Sensory stimulation room for Newcraigielea

Clients at Newcraigielea are being offered what promises to be a relaxing and therapeutic “multi-sensory” stimulation room.
The town’s purpose-built unit in Seafield Road provides respite, short break and day care services to adults with learning disabilities.
Its new room has been made possible by a £10,214 grant from Scottish Sea Farms, through its Heart of the Community trust fund.
Newcraigielea team leader Fiona Hillyear welcomed the news.
She said: “This fantastic new room provides a safe space with wonderful sensory experiences for people who have varying degrees of support needs.
“The people who access our service are very excited about the room and everyone is extremely grateful to the Scottish Sea Farms Heart of the Community Trust for granting us the funds to make this all possible.
“Each year we have more young people being referred to us once they leave children’s services and others who are referred to us from other sources.”
Multi-sensory stimulation rooms are widely used across education and care settings due to their beneficial effects. A mixture of lighting effects, music, aromas and textures are said to have a therapeutic benefit by creating a comforting environment.
The room encourages independent use by incorporating remote controls, letting users choose which piece of equipment they interact with, whatever their level of ability.
Factory quality manager at Scottish Sea Farms in Scalloway, Marjory Bowie, said: “To see people using the equipment and enjoying the room is truly heartening and we are delighted to have been able to support Newcraigielea with this fantastic idea.”