mobile multi-sensory room
the nsdrc has created canada's first mobile multi-sensory environment
We built our multi-sensory environment on wheels with community in mind. It’s a health and wellness resource that can be used by children, young adults and the elderly in schools, hospitals and care facilities, first-responder communities, and so many more. Instead of using medication to calm or engage people, let's stimulate their senses instead.
The Mobile Multi-sensory Room is almost ready to hit the road! Due to COVID-19 we have experienced delays in opening. Read on to learn more about the van and how you will be able to book it to visit your home or workplace.
MAKING SENSE OF OUR SENSES IN TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY
Sight. Sound. Touch. Smell. Taste. The world is full of sensory stimuli and we don’t all respond in the same way. Some of us struggle to find ways to make sense of, balance, and regulate our physical, cognitive, emotional, and social responses to what’s going on in our lives, especially in times of stress and high anxiety.
HOW MULTI-SENSORY ENVIRONMENTS CAN HELP
Multi-sensory environments (sometimes referred to as Snoezelen® Rooms*) are safe, relaxing spaces, designed to stimulate the senses to bring peace, calm, and wellness. Appropriate for all ages and abilities, the NSDRC’s Mobile Multi-sensory Room can be customized with a multi-sensory or single-sensory focus. Gentle light, soothing sound, relaxing smells, and touch can calm those feeling agitated and anxious; exciting visuals, music, sounds and touch can engage and stimulate those feeling disconnected and withdrawn.
The opportunity to benefit from the Mobile Multi-sensory Room lies anywhere across the Lower Mainland where people experience anxiety and stress and need a space to relax and ground themselves.
* Multi-sensory environments were first created by Dutch therapists in the 1970s and were called Snoezelen® Rooms (the word Snoezelen is a contraction of the Dutch verbs “snuffelen” - to seek and explore, and “doezelen” - to relax).
take a look inside our van
Here is some of the equipment you will find inside our mobile multi-sensory environment. Please note that due to current COVID-19 health restrictions, fabric items that require frequent laundering may not be available to you during your session.
accessibility
Meet Jim and learn about the Mobile Multi-Sensory Room's accessibility features.
calming
Meet Saajin and learn about the Mobile Multi-Sensory Room's calming features.
partner with the nsdrc to bring the mobile multi-sensory room to you
The Mobile Multi-sensory Room is a true community resource; in addition to its use in NSDRC programming, our friendly and reliable facilitators will travel across the Lower Mainland to share it with others.
We work with our partners to customize Mobile Multi-sensory Room packages to meet specific user and organizational needs. Some organizations will schedule our multi-sensory environment to be onsite once or twice a month, to complement other self-care resources they make available to their employees, students, residents, and clients. Other organizations will choose to use the van at special events and engagements held throughout the year. Families may opt to have the van come to their home.
Rental rates will be available closer to our launch date.
covid-19 precautions
- The Multi-Sensory Room is regularly cleaned with disinfecting wipes (such as Lysol and Cavi wipes) to ensure your safety before and after each use.
- Room capacity is two (2) people. Only one (1) user and a facilitator who is part of that user's ‘bubble’ will have access to the room during the session.
- The NSDRC employee on-site will wear a mask when providing orientation/training sessions.
- Users will be required to complete an online COVID-19 screening form prior to use.
- During COVID-19 users will not have access to the following items due to the need for frequent laundering: weighted blanket, bean bag chair, any fabric items in the tactile sensory kit.
contact
When the mobile multi-sensory room is ready for bookings, we will update this page. If you have specific questions we haven't covered here, please contact Kathleen Jessop at k.jessop@nsdrc.org.
Thank you to our Mobile Multi-sensory Room sponsors
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North Shore Disability Resource Centre
3158 Mountain Highway
North Vancouver, BC
V7K 2H5
phone: 604-985-5371
fax: 604-985-7594
email: nsdrc@nsdrc.org
connect with us
The NSDRC was started by a group of families in 1976. In the years since, we have worked for a "Community for All" by developing and providing residential services, infant development programs, youth groups, community based services, and information and advocacy.
We are grateful for the opportunity to work, live and play on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.