Snoezelen in practice

I experienced first hand this week the concept behind the Snoezelen therapy concept.  According to Wikepedia:

"Snoezelen (pronounced /ˈsnuzələ(n)/) or controlled multisensory environment (MSE) is a therapy for people with autism ordevelopmental disabilities. It consists of placing the person in a soothing and stimulating environment, the "Snoezelen room". These rooms are specially designed to deliver stimuli to various senses, using lighting effects, color, sounds, music, scents, etc. The combination of different materials on a wall may be explored using tactile senses, and the floor may be adjusted to stimulate the sense of balance.

Originally developed in the Netherlands in the 1970s, Snoezelen rooms have been established in institutions all over the world and are especially common in Germany, where more than 1200 exist.

The term "snoezelen" is a neologism formed from the Dutch "snuffelen" (to seek out, to explore) and "doezelen" (to doze, to snooze). "Snoezelen" is a registered trademark of the English company Rompa.^[1]

Ideally, Snoezelen therapy is a non-directive therapy^[clarify] and can be staged to provide a multi-sensory experience or single sensory focus, simply by adapting the lighting, atmosphere, sounds, and textures to the specific needs of the client at the time of use. There is no formal focus on therapeutic outcome - the focus is to assist users to gain the maximum pleasure from the activity in which they and the enabler are involved. An advantage of Snoezelen therapy is that it does not rely on verbal communication and may be beneficial for people with profound autism, as it may provide stimulation for those who would otherwise be almost impossible to reach.

Snoezelen therapy is used for people with autism and other developmental disabilities, dementia, brain injury and even toddlers. However, research on the benefits of treatment is scarce, based on variable clinical study designs.^[2][3]"

I got a new body wash with the Sweet Pea/ violet scent.  I was amazed that as I started to wash and smelled the scent, I was reminded of a doll I had as a kid.  There were these tiny little plastic dolls that had scent in them and I remembered distinctly the doll, where we were living when I had the doll, what my bedroom looked like, how it felt to hold the doll.  It was pretty amazing because I probably could not have called up that memory without the scent.  

There is so much we don't know about the brain and how various forms of dementia really affect it.  Just yesterday my boss, who has tons of experience in long term care and caring for individuals with dementia, commented about how her own mother at times seems so clear.  When I talk with staff I try to remind them that we don't really know how much someone is processing of what we say and do.  They may not be able to respond in a way that we can understand, but it doesn't mean they don't understand somewhere inside.  How exciting that so many new ideas of therapy and creating therapeutic environments are coming into use.  I may not get to use them to help my mother, but I hope I can use them for the benefits of others.