Snoezelen MSE (Multi Sensory Environments) are relaxing gentle sensory environments which are used both to calm and to stimulate. The Snoezelen rooms are used as part of early intervention programs such as Me and Mommy for sensory stimulation, to promote communication, and as a calming place for both baby and mother. For the older children, it is useful in helping with sensory regulation, creating a calm learning environment and improving functionality and learning skills.
Shalva has four Snoezelen rooms of different sizes, equipped with the best equipment available, such as water mattresses, vibrating seats and pillows, sound to light converters, fiber optic cables, stars spotlights, light tunnels, bubble column, physio balls, 3-D mirrors, weight blankets and sensory baskets.
This year, Shalva opened professional training courses led by Noa Yitzhari, on sensory regulation and intervention programs for children and adolescents using Snoezelen MSE. The courses address the need of professionals working with special populations who are seeking alternate treatment methods, and enables students to learn about the importance of adaptive environment and enabling methods of therapy. Three classes, a total of 45 students from all over the country have successfully completed the course, which includes theoretical, practical and experiential training and is recognized by the ISNA.
Ad Verheul , the person who originally discovered and established Snoezelen therapy in the late 1970s visited from Holland . He toured the Shalva National Center’s four different Snoezelen rooms, each specifically designed to cater to different age groups and disabilities, and participated in some Snoezelen therapies. Most impressed, Verheul granted Shalva’s Snoezelen course authorization by the ISNA, the International Snoezelen Association. Shalva is one of two certifying bodies in Israel for Snoezelen therapy.
