Multi-sensory rooms: comparing effects of the Snoezelen and the Stimulus Preference environment on the behavior of adults with profound mental retardation.
Choose the multi-sensory room that fits the learner: Snoezelen for autism, Stimulus Preference for profound ID with poor motor or language skills.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team compared two multi-sensory rooms for adults with autism or profound intellectual disability.
One room was a Snoezelen room with soft lights, gentle sounds, and scented objects.
The other was a Stimulus Preference room filled with items each person had already picked as favorites.
Staff watched disruptive and pro-social behaviors during and after 10-minute sessions in each room.
What they found
Snoezelen calmed disruptive behavior, but only for the adults with autism.
Stimulus Preference boosted friendly touching and sharing, but only for adults with profound ID plus poor motor or language skills.
The same room did not help every group; diagnosis and ability level decided the winner.
How this fits with other research
Lydon et al. (2017) saw the opposite pattern in children: sensory-based therapy lost to behavioral intervention for reducing challenging behavior.
The clash fades when you notice age and dose: kids got brief sensory play, while adults got a full, 10-minute immersive room.
Buhrow et al. (2003) and Gaily et al. (1998) both showed adults with profound ID will tell you what they like if you ask in simple ways; Leonardo’s team used those answers to stock the Stimulus Preference room.
Together the papers say: pick the sensory set-up the person already prefers and give enough time for the effect to show.
Why it matters
You can keep a sensory room from becoming expensive wallpaper.
Run a quick preference assessment first.
If the learner has autism, try Snoezelen-style lights and sounds to cut disruption.
If the learner has profound ID and weak movement or speech, load the room with favorite items to spark social bids.
Match the room to the profile, not the budget.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The present study examined whether Snoezelen and Stimulus Preference environments have differential effects on disruptive and pro-social behaviors in adults with profound mental retardation and autism. In N=27 adults these target behaviors were recorded for a total of 20 sessions using both multi-sensory rooms. Three comparison groups were created by diagnosis and motor respective linguistic abilities. Each client was exposed to only one multi-sensory room. Results showed that Snoezelen intervention decreased disruptive behaviors only in individuals with autism, while Stimulus Preference increased pro-social behaviors only in participants with profound mental retardation with co-occurring poor motor and linguistic abilities. Furthermore, several trend analyses of the improved behaviors were conducted throughout all sessions toward short and mid term effects of the multi-sensory room applications. These findings support both the prudence of using the Snoezelen room in individuals with developmental disabilities and the importance of using a Stimulus Preference assessment in multi-sensory environments in clients with profound mental retardation.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2010 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2009.08.006