Testimonial:  Here are three stories about the success of our Multi-Sensory Enviornment (MSE)

We have a few success stories that motivate us to continue the use of the MSE room:  Ken, who has CP and uses a wheelchair, uses the MSE room.  When he enters the room his shoulders are high, muscles tight, fists clenched and generally very high muscle tone.  He feeds himself, but it can take over an hour for him to manage this task.  After spending 30 minutes in this room; Ken was able to drop his shoulder, unclench is fists and he began to move his head back and forth (usually looks down and not much movement side to side).  Ken also leaned forward and placed his elbows on his thighs something difficult for him to achieve due to his tight muscles.  After that session, Ken fed himself in less than half the time and his muscle tone was more relaxed!  Aaron is Autistic and one with more energy than he knew what to do.  He typically arrives sweaty, twirling, rocking back and forth and overall over stimulated.  The set up for his room is to get the room “rocking” at a higher stimulation level than Aaron.  We actually did not witness much of an impact after a session in the MSE room, but the results were simply delayed.  Aaron rarely sleeps past 1:00AM and then he runs up and down the stairs for several hours (keeping his housemates up) and over stimulating himself.  After a session in this room, Aaron slept until 5:00 AM.  Can you imagine the increased quality of life by getting and extra four hours of sleep?!  He still got up and ran up and down the stairs, but that was delayed by hours and his time spent doing this was significantly less.  Jamie:  She does not attend our program but does ‘rent’ the space.  Her mother spent weeks learning the concepts, running of equipment and understanding reactions to the stimulation.  We still set up the room for them, but Mom now conducts the session.  When Jamie first started, Mom commented she rarely will look at a camera as she typically holds her head down.  After several weeks of utilizing the MSE room, Jamie now holds her head up.  She is more willing to walk without her walker, she appears happier and more engaging.  Mom is so pleased with her progress; they are now attending twice a week instead of only once a week.  Since the increase in sessions, Mom is pleased to share that Jamie is more independent in several areas of her life.  For the first time ever, she went to her bedroom for the evening without being prompted.  She is beginning to walk more independently and often without her walker, she smiles and laughs more often.  With the twice a week sessions, things are happening at a more rapid rate.  Jamie is also changing the colors of the room independently, a few weeks ago, she would simply push the control box away.