Welcome to the Knapp School & Yeshiva Snoezelen Room--a new hotspot for our students. The Snoezelen Room, comparable to a multisensory room, is designed to stimulate all our senses while foster a feeling of relaxation. Young children to adults, with a wide spectrum of developmental needs and sensitivities can benefit from spending time here. The room is intended to help students reduce agitation and anxiety with long-term goals of increased emotional regulation and independent functioning. 

The various components of the room work to stimulate a specific sense, such as: aroma therapy for smell; bubble tube and infinity panel with changing colors for sight; fiber optics, bean bag and various surfaces for touch; and music for hearing are all options for input. The user has full control over how much or how little each sense is stimulated by making choices based on their liking. With adult supervision, this experience is meant to transition a student from a heightened state of arousal to one of calm. 

In order to intake information, our brains need just the right amount of activation to reach an optimal state of arousal, which helps students learn. When our integration systems are not working quite right, we benefit from sensory input to help our bodies adjust, regulate, and refocus so that learning and socializing can be more successful.

Pictured above, Khatim, a 5th grade student, was excited to share about his time in the Snoezelen Room. “It’s awesome--all you have to do is flip a switch on the iPod and you can turn on anything.” Khatim uses the room from time to time to get grounded and back into the mood for learning. When asked what his favorite parts of the room are he shared, ”I love the fiber optics because they feel like ramen noodles and watching the bubble tube is really relaxing. I love watching the bubbles float to the top.” 

The Snoezelen Room is just one of the many enrichments the Knapp School & Yeshiva offers. It has become an exciting part of Knapp for many students. The room was made possible by a very generous donor and the Knapp School & Yeshiva staff and students are extremely appreciative!