Guide to Multi Sensory Environments

Calming:

Fibre Optics

Visual seekers will find bold colours, spinning objects and brights lights helpful to regulate. The lights often provide a calming environment, whether these are across the floor, a bed or hanging from the ceiling. If someone is avoiding the lights or squinting, try a darker colour or place a see through sheet over the lights to make them less visually stimulating, this can also provide further tactile feedback. For a user that has limited mobility they can be draped across their lap, this can support with inclusion and increase focus. Being surrounded by the lights can provide a sense of security.

Stimulating:

The bright lights from the fibre optics are alerting and will stimulate the visual sense, improving visual development and colour recognition. The lights will often stimulate the desire to touch and explore, encourage this as it will help develop fine motor skills by holding individual strands. Tactile seekers will be able to touch the lights in a safe environment, receiving plenty of tactile feedback with no risks of harm as the lights will not get hot.

Developmental:

The lights can help develop interactions and connections between individuals and the environment, which can support the development of social skills. Encourage this by creating games to do, try counting the strands or including them in nursery rhymes or music. Colour control can be changed using dice, controllers or an iPad, depending on which option you have opted for. Encourage the user to interact and choose their colour to develop colour recognition, if you require visual aids to do this use coloured cards. This will also support to build the cause-and-effect skill which in turn develops curiosity and communication.

Idea:

As the colours change encourage the user to identify the different colours, this will help improve cognition and focus their attention to the task. You can also try mirroring. Show the user a task and get them to copy you. This can include crossing the strands or moulding the strands into shapes, such as Plaits. This will develop fine motor skills and sequencing skills.

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