Babies and small children learn through their senses. For most infants, everyday interactions with the world around them provide chances to develop neural pathways for fine and gross motor skills, cognitive functioning, and awareness as well as communication, both verbal and nonverbal.
For many others, challenges beginning in childhood such as cerebral palsy or an issue on the autism spectrum short-circuit the process. This can also happen later in life for people with Alzheimer's, brain injury patients, or those recovering from strokes. A common stimulus such as clothing textures or a sound within the comfort zone of most others causes a frightening level of overstimulation to someone with a sensory issue.
One challenging aspect of daily life for people with sensory issues such as the above is bathing. Bright lights, the sound of rushing water from a shower or a toilet, the tactile sensations of a bath--all could provoke anxiety. However, it could also be a way to provide gentle sensory stimulation to help with motor skills and rewire or create new neural pathways if the bathroom is equipped with the IRiS Sensory Bathroom Bundle from experia USA.
The bundle includes an IRiS Light Spreader to fill the room with colored light, providing an optimal environment for color recognition or theming. A LED Lightsource illuminating a nine foot wide bore fiber optic device can be aimed safely at the bath itself to provide different colored water. Both the spreader and the source are controlled by a floating switch. When the bather uses the switch, it causes the lights to change color, providing reinforcement of the concepts of cause and effect. Three effects wheels (including a blank one) and an image projector create projections that can be themed or personalized to the user's preference.
Sound systems can also be included to enhance the experience with relaxing music from either an MP-3 player or a radio and an aromatherapy kit can complete the relaxing experience for the individual.
The IRiS (Interactive Reward System) products are wireless. The switch is called a "talker" and the equipment that it controls is called a "listener." The "talker" is able to be linked to more than one "listener." This ensures that they can be arranged anywhere in a given space to optimize the user's experience and comfort. The "talker" that comes with the Bathroom Bundle is waterproof and floatable.
Experia USA has received recognition as a worldwide leader in developing innovative sensory stimulation equipment for children. Therapeutic schools are not the only venues where their products are found. They can be found in care centers and private homes as well. No matter the location, the Experia USA Bath Bundle is a calming solution to a potentially stressful situation.
Fran Jablway
and
Hulet Smith, OT
