Teachers’ Perspicacity on the Implementation of Snoezelen Room for Emotional Therapy of Autistic Children

Abstract

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (2016-2030) has the initiative to transform the education system through out the globe, to develop holistic individuals. For autistic children, holistic development should address the autistic children's needs of emotional therapy as well. This research has the objective to examine teachers" perspicacity on the implementation of Snoezelen Room for the emotional therapy of children with autism. In Malaysia, a Snoezelen Room was built at Hashim Awang Primary School to provide not only an interactive learning facility, but also to support the emotional therapy of autistic children. The research uses both the qualitative and quantitative approaches. The secondary data is collected via table research, to review the circumstantial situation surrounding the development of Snoezelen room. Meanwhile, for the primary data collection, a survey questionnaire is distributed to teachers who involved directly with the teachers" training program and implementation of the Snoezelen Room at the school. Those teachers have had special training to handle and teach children with autism. The collected survey data is then studied empirically by using statistical analysis approach, to generate intrinsic findings and conclusion. The quantitative analysis is divided into three parts which are demography of the respondents, Snoezelen Room preparation and Snoezelen Room implementation. All participated teachers gave positive feedback towards the implementation. They agreed that having a snoezelen room in the proximity of inclusive schools in Malaysia is deemed necessary to support the Malaysian national agenda of holistic educational approach. Hence, it is hoped that the Malaysian Education Ministry will establish more inclusive schools with the provision of Snoezelen rooms for holistic development of children with autism.

Healing Library@Seberang Jaya: A Conceptual Snoezelen Room for Mind, Body, and Soul

“…Snoezelen is pronounced "snooze-uh-len," roughly translated from Dutch, meaning "to explore and relax" (Tyndall, 2012). The word Snoezelen is a combination of two Dutch words, meaning "sniffing" and "dozing," and the word refers to the "pleasurable sensory experiences generated in an atmosphere of trust and relaxation (Abdullah et al, 2020;Tyndall, 2012). The design of a sensory environment is often constrained in a room; hence, scholars often use the term Snoezelen Room rather than sensory environment (Abdullah et al, 2020).…”

“…The word Snoezelen is a combination of two Dutch words, meaning "sniffing" and "dozing," and the word refers to the "pleasurable sensory experiences generated in an atmosphere of trust and relaxation (Abdullah et al, 2020;Tyndall, 2012). The design of a sensory environment is often constrained in a room; hence, scholars often use the term Snoezelen Room rather than sensory environment (Abdullah et al, 2020). The sensory room is a specially designed space or room where stimuli can be controlled, manipulated, diversified, reduced or multiplied, implemented separately or combined, packaged to encourage or reduce interaction, and adapted to meet the needs of motivation, interest, therapy, education and the development of users (Manja et al, 2022).…”

“…Over the years, snoezelen rooms have been developed worldwide to facilitate children with autism and other disabilities to better regulate the amount of sensory stimulation they experience (Abdullah et al, 2020). The room is usually filled with special equipment and tools such as an aroma diffuser, sound equipment, vibrating platform, speakers, projector, a motorized mirror ball, soft plays seating, beanbag chairs, a ball pool, fiber optics, and bubble tubes, which the children adjust to meet their needs (Abdullah et al, 2020;Pierce, 2022;Tonetti & Rossetti, 2023).…”

“…Over the years, snoezelen rooms have been developed worldwide to facilitate children with autism and other disabilities to better regulate the amount of sensory stimulation they experience (Abdullah et al, 2020). The room is usually filled with special equipment and tools such as an aroma diffuser, sound equipment, vibrating platform, speakers, projector, a motorized mirror ball, soft plays seating, beanbag chairs, a ball pool, fiber optics, and bubble tubes, which the children adjust to meet their needs (Abdullah et al, 2020;Pierce, 2022;Tonetti & Rossetti, 2023). The activities provided in a sensory room may benefit children with autism in becoming more physically active or accepting a more comprehensive range of sensory experiences when used as part of a comprehensive intervention program as the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) Council on Children with Disabilities states that sensory activities may help to calm the children with autism and reinforce their desired behavior (Abdullah et al, 2020).…”

“…The room is usually filled with special equipment and tools such as an aroma diffuser, sound equipment, vibrating platform, speakers, projector, a motorized mirror ball, soft plays seating, beanbag chairs, a ball pool, fiber optics, and bubble tubes, which the children adjust to meet their needs (Abdullah et al, 2020;Pierce, 2022;Tonetti & Rossetti, 2023). The activities provided in a sensory room may benefit children with autism in becoming more physically active or accepting a more comprehensive range of sensory experiences when used as part of a comprehensive intervention program as the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) Council on Children with Disabilities states that sensory activities may help to calm the children with autism and reinforce their desired behavior (Abdullah et al, 2020). The sensory room is a designated area that can support sensory preferences and needs, which aims to provide sensory input, a relaxed atmosphere with pleasant surroundings, soothing sounds, captivating aromas, tactile experiences, massage, and vibration so they can be better prepared for learning and interacting with others (Ncse, 2021;Tyndall, 2012).…”