Wood Snoezelen. Multisensory Wooden Environments for the Care and Rehabilitation of People with Severe and Very Severe Cognitive Disabilities

The paper wants to present the progress of a research project focused on the study and design of a Snoezelen room made with wooden components. “Snoeze-len” refers to closed environments capable of stimulating the senses in people with severe intellectual disabilities and non-self-sufficient people. Within these environ-ments, multisensory stimulation takes place through various equipment and instru-ments such as optical fibers, water-powered light columns, systems for the reproduc-tion of sounds or vibrations, and materials with different surface treatments. Many studies and researches have demonstrated the effectiveness of multisensory stimu-lation generated within a Snoezelen environment on children with autism spectrum disorder, and how this has led to beneficial effects such as the reduction in aggressive and/or self-injurious behaviors. The increase and diffusion of these environments, especially in schools, could lead to both an increase in the number of students who can undertake a rehabilitation process, and an increase in the sensory-perceptive aids available to the school. The rehabilitation and multisensory aspect of the Snoezelen methodology is, in this context, emphasized by the use of wood, thanks to its bene-ficial properties in terms of healthiness, comfort, and influences on psychological aspects. The goal of the research is the design of a wooden Snoezelen environment, the drafting of guidelines for its implementation, and an evaluation schedule for its use. In particular, the environment will be made by applying construction tech-niques in wood as a material for cladding, finishing, and components of the interior environment.