The concept of Snoezelen was defined in the late 1970's by two Dutch therapists, Jan Hulsegge and Ad Verheul. While working at the De Hartenberg Institute in Holland, a center for people with intellectual disabilities, the two therapists learned of the positive responses a colleague was able to elicit from his severely challenged clients while exposed to a sensory environment he had assembled. So successful was the experiment, a Snoezelen centre was installed in 1987 at Whittington Hall, England. Joe Kewin and his team offered six sensory environments to their clients and also pioneered early research examining client response to the Snoezelen multisensory approach. The results were impressive, specifically in clients who showed a marked reduction in self-abusive behaviors. Snoezelen is now used widely in education and care settings for children with disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. Encouraging results have also been shown from people suffering from mental illness, chronic pain, acquired brain injury, and stress. Over the past fifteen years, Snoezelen has expanded into 30 countries with thousands of installations, a worldwide foundation, national and international conferences, and research projects.
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