The ISNA-mse international confernece can now announce the dates for this years conference:
29/30 September 2023
VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY
Valparaiso, INDIANA 46383-6493 USA
We are working prices, program and preparing to Call for papers.
Below the date of a pre-conference, same place in May
This pre-conference meeting on May 9, mentioned above, is an appetizer for people in the USA.It will be held same place as the conference later this year: On Valparaiso University
You can see the flyer here.
In memoriam
Jan Hulsegge, co-founder of Snoezelen, passed away on Sunday March 12th 2023 in the presence of his wife and children at the age of 87.
Jan started at the Hartenberg, a centre for people with intellectual disabilities, in 1974 and I had been working there six months earlier. We immediately had a special click and our ideas with regard to Snoezelen found a good breeding ground, especially with the parents of the clients and later also with the employees.
Jan Hulsegge was head of the Occupational Therapy department, a department that was supposed to guide the care workers in training in the development of activities with clients. Our team meetings were always very special, Jan gave everyone plenty of room to vent ideas and that was an incentive for many young colleagues.
Jan was the one who put together everything in the field of electronics and I developed more of the other specific materials together with colleagues. We could always stimulate each other in endless conversations and ideas and that eventually led to global developments.
In those early days, our offices were more of a creative workshop where everything was put together because there were no companies that produced such materials.
Jan also made a strong contribution to the training of employees in the care of people with intellectual disabilities (at the time called Zwakzinnigenzorg!) He was represented in many steering committees and forms of consultation in the field of training.
Jan has previously stopped his work at De Hartenberg and has been actively involved in everything that has to do with Snoezelen for many years. For almost 18 years, together with his wife Mini and friends, he helped build Snoezel spaces in institutes in Poland. Jan was always busy picking up new things. At a certain point it became increasingly difficult for Jan to oversee certain developments in the field of Snoezelen when I told him about this after a trip abroad. Mini, his wife supported him tremendously in that to make it clear to Jan.
These are some retrospectives of a special and sweet man who has always inspired me.
Jan also leaves a big gap for me and will be a great loss for many people all over the world who are busy with Snoezelen and on the other hand also many beautiful memories of meetings during the many international conferences.
On behalf of the board of the International Snoezelen-Multisensory-Association a warm condolences and a lot of appreciation for everything Jan has meant to this international organization.
Ede, March 15th 2023
Ad Verheul
You can send you condolences to ad@isna-mse.org
It will be collected and given to the family
On the picture below you can see Jan participating in the meeting about the definition of Snoezelen/mse
Re- Creating the Definition of Snoezelen in Alabama
New Board member
Katerina Janku,M.A.,Ph.D.
Vice – Dean for International Relations
New Boardmember
read more about Agnieszka her
Hanne Holmder left the board. We are very grateful for everything thing she did in the years she was a member of the board. We hope she will stay in contact with us and at we will meet on future conferences.
Visit De Hartenberg and be shown around by the cofounder of snoezelen, Ad Verheul.
Aroma therapy and music so become Ukrainian soldiers again prepared on the front!
click the picture
Visit De Hartenberg
Airports with Snoezelen rooms! click the name to follow the link
See the video on making and using the Snoezelen room in King Khalid Airport in Saudi Arabia.
Click the picture below
Subsidy for Snoezelen Research University of Groningen in Cooperation with ´s Heeren Loo /De Hartenberg
Date: 01-07-2022
The project proposal ‘Snoezelen: together towards goal-oriented and effective action’ has been honoured by the SIA RAAK Public Programme. The aim of this 2-year project, which is part of the Snoezel research of PhD candidate Gemma Testerink, is to develop an intervention guide that helps healthcare professionals to tailor-made and targeted Snoezelen, and to test the effectiveness of that intervention guideline. This project is part of Gemma Testerink’s PhD research.
Snoezelen
Snoezelen is a globally applied intervention, developed for people with a severe intellectual disability. During Snoezelen, senses are stimulated so that the person relaxes (“dozing”) or is activated (“sniffing”). Although several scientific studies have been conducted on yields of Snoezelen, the shape and objectives of Snoezelen appear to differ per study. In practice, too, we see that everyone does things a little differently, with different results. How can we shape Snoezelen so that it has the most positive effects for people with a severe intellectual disability?
The project
The project will last two years and will run from September 2022 to August 2024. Our starting point is the available scientific knowledge about Snoezelen and a broadly expanded questionnaire about the way in which Snoezelen is done in practice. This was achieved in the first part of Gemma Testerink’s research. From this starting point, we develop an intervention guide together with snobby practical professionals. After the intervention guide has been developed, it is tested in practice. Based on this, the effectiveness of Snoezelen is looked at.
For practice
With the intervention guide tested for effectiveness, professionals, such as occupational therapists, supervisors and orthopedagogues, can use Snoezelen more purposefully and effectively within the day program of people with a (very) serious intellectual and multiple disability.
The research is carried out from the Academic Workplace EMB (severe intellectual disability) in the Netherlands. The partners (University of Groningen, Heeren Loo/De Hartenberg, Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen and Royal Visio) together have both scientific and practical knowledge about Snoezelen.
Gemma Testerink hopes to be promoted in 2025. Her coaching team consists of: Annette van der Putten, Annet Ten Brug and Aly Waninge.
Ede, the Netherlands,
Ad Verheul
MOHAWK college, Hamilton, Ontario Canada is a huge college for national and international students, now officialy started a Snoezelen-mse education, approved by ISNA-mse.org and they teach as difined by ISNA-mse, to qualify their students. You can link to the college here: Mohawk collage
THE NETWORK THAT INTERSECTS RELATIONSHIPS AND KNOWLEDGE
ABSTRACT
A Network of Snoezelen Schools is born in Italy with the aim of spreading the culture of kindness, acceptance, loving-kindness towards oneself and others; to nurture authentic relationships and develop emotional intelligence and relational skills among the new generations. The snoezelen multisensory environments represent spaces that facilitate encounters with oneself and with the ‘other’, through controlled stimulation of the senses.
Keyword
On 27 May 2021, a national network of snoezelen schools will be officially established in Italy. The headmaster of the IC “Alessio Narbone”, the network’s lead school, Prof. Francesco Pignataro, after having launched an invitation to all Italian schools interested in the thought of otherness through the press and social media, in a public assembly in web conference mode, constitutes this body destined to grow. The Network is an organisational structure that creates connections between schools whose mission is to spread the snoezelen thought and philosophy within the school fabric. It comprises 37 schools of all levels spread throughout the country, from Piedmont to Sicily, from north to south. READ more…..
EVENT in Michigan City, Michigan, USA:
On Monday, May 23 at 5:30 PM, ISNA-MSE President Maurits Eijgendaal joins Mayor Duane Parry of Michigan City, for an official ribbon cutting ceremony of the multi-sensory environment space at Pine Elementary School. Much gratitude goes to the sponsors (see list on image) who are making these dreams possible! We are looking forward to this event!
Herzlich Willkommen bei der ISNA-MSE
Welcome to Isna-mse Germany ( in German)
Nicole und Svenja
click on the pictures to visit the homepage from Nicole or/and Svenja
Click here to visit isna-mse Germany
This is what the Online Seminars in Germany currently look like:
All materials are nicely packed in takeaway bags for the participants to take home.
These are then either brought to the facility with the “delivery service” or sent directly to the participants’ homes.
Special Time + Special Requirements = Creative Solutions! 😉
Kateřina Janků, M.A.,Ph.D.
Vice – Dean for International Relations, is the leader of a project supported by the EU. More information here
Link to the an article about the project
Follow the links below to read the following articles, gathered in one pdf
POSITIVE IMPACT OF THE SNOEZELEN CONCEPT ON CHILDREN
AND PUPILS WITH HEALTH DISABILITIES
Jarmila Pipeková, Jan Viktorin 11
SENSORY PROFILE IN THE SNOEZELEN INTERVENTION
María José Cid Rodriguez, Ramona Ribes Castells, Kateřina Janků 35
OF STIMULI AND METAPHORS : THERAPEUTIC STORYTELLING
(FAIRY TALE THERAPY) IN THE SNOEZELEN ROOM
Agnieszka Smrokowska–Reichmann
A pdf about the Erasmus project
you can download more here:
English Czech
Maria José Cid Dra. Psicologia
published two articles about snoezelen. Find them here:
1. Snoezelen and Dementia, a Case study
2. Sensory profile in the snoezelen intervention
” Prince Sultan bin Salman ” opened the sensory room initiative for children with disabilities at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh
Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdelaziz, Special Adviser to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the King Salman Center for Disability Research, opened the Sensory Room Initiative for Children with Disabilities in Domestic Travel Terminal 5 at King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
The Project manager Kholod Al-Shaya explained that the “sensory room” is a specially equipped safe environment, in which the tools and devices available are controlled in order to stimulate the different senses of the individual: sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell, and can provide pleasure and relaxation for users.
She added that : the initiative is the first of its kind to the children with disabilities in Middle Eastern airports, and that it was created based on need; As children with disabilities and their families face difficulties and challenges while traveling through airports, it is hoped that through this initiative, it will contribute to improving and facilitating the travel experience for them and their families.
She indicated that the King Salman Center for Disability Research and its partners implemented this initiative in two locations in Riyadh: King Khalid International Airport and King Fahd Medical City, and that the possibility of implementing it in other public facilities is being discussed, as needed.
Play Video
Prince Sultan bin Salman visiting the Snoezelenroom
Celebrating the first French speaking conference in Belgium after Corona.
Click the Facebook symbol in the upper right corner to see the ISNA International Facebook group.
Update:
The scientific research project has extend. See below on this page or click here
Relevant book written by our board member Anthony McCrovitz
When it comes to caregiving, processes of learning and relationship-building are as important for the caregiver as they are for the individual. The work of Dr. Anthony (Tony) M. McCrovitz is grounded in the relationship-building philosophy and practice of Gentle Teaching, his source of inspiration for the writing of this book. In mentoring a spirit of gentleness, we engage in navigating the social vision of Gentle Teaching, based on mutual respect, unconditional acceptance, and principles of interdependence that demonstrate the universal, inherent unity of our humanity. Gentle teaching is the perfect base for Snoezelen, and the foreword is written by Maurits. You can order it on Amazon.com or click the picure of the book below if you want to buy a digital copy for 5$
One can download a black&white PDF copy for $5. (downloadable for personal use only) Just click the picture of the book to see the link.
Or find it here on Amazon
Some of the subjects we talked about in the board
Like everybody else in our world today, we only could meet online, but fortunately the Corona situation is getting better many places.
The conference in 2021 is postponed (again)
The international conference was planned to occur in Belgium Le Mons this fall.
We just do not believe this is possible. Maybe some people can travel, others cannot.
So, we decided to ask the Belgian organizers to move the conference to 2022.
And fortunately, they accepted.
We plan to have our next conference in April 2022 in Charleroi Belgium. We are grateful the organizers are willing to find a new date for the second time. There will be a local conference (in French) at the planned date this fall.
This means that the only international isna-mse conference in 2022 is in the spring instead of the fall.
ISNA qualifications
Sometimes we are asked to, officially, improve Snoezelen rooms.
This is not possible.
There is no qualification of rooms! This is not possible and does not make any sense. Nobody shall give you a certification of your room.
We urge companies not to offer this, unless it is in cooperation with teachers approved by ISNA-mse!!
ISNA qualifies people for their skills in Snoezelen.
Rooms are always depending on country, financial opportunities, and cultural interests.
Snoezelen is about the relationship between a caring person and a person who needs/enjoys care, and we would love to qualify this relationship. We do this by organizing ISNA improved courses in many languages and many countries. Find your teacher on our homepage or contact your local ISNA-mse.
Member Fee
In spite of a lot of work our cashier did not succeed in collecting the annual membership fee from all members. We will not demand payment this year, because we do not have a conference. But we hope you will pay the fee before the next conference in April 2022.
Facebook group
Our ISNA-mse Facebook group is growing every day. We now have more then a thousand people there, many very active, which is great! We urge suppliers to use this group in a modest way and only tell about new inventions people need to know about. click the ‘F’ symbol in top, or click here to visit the group
The site
To keep our site interesting of all, please send information you want to share with other people. This can be about research, course to be planned or whatever could be nice to know. Send your information to maurits@isna-mse.org and we will take care of it. companies can have information on our site, but it will be marked as an announcement, and cost a little money that can help us keep the site in the air.
Upcoming online course in Portugal
follow this link:
https://www.institutocriap.com/formacao/especializacao-avancada-estimulacao-multissensorial-snoezelen
Se the video of the big “re-opening” event that was held way back in March just before COVID-19 hit and changed the world!
the Multi-Sensory Lab at Mohawk College, Hammilton Ontario
Invitation to you all to participate in a scientific Snoezelen study!
Dear ISNA members and Snoezelen colleagues worldwide,
In cooperation with the University Groningen in the Netherlands and the Academic Collaborative Center PIMD has started an international research project on the effectiveness of snoezelen in persons with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD). We aim to use the study results to work towards a snoezelen approach that offers a good fit with people with PIMD, healthcare and education professionals and parents and relatives. We would like to ask you to help us reach participants.
We would like to ask you to distribute the following call to people you know who use snoezelen in persons with PIMD. The call and the questionnaire are available in English, German, Spanish and Dutch. For questions, please contact the contact person below.
Thank you very much in advance,
Sincerely,
Gemma Testerink, MSc, scientist practitioner Academic Collaborative Center PIMD (Contact: g.g.m.testerink@rug.nl)
Gerdine Douma, MSc, senior research Academic Collaborative Center PIMD
Professor Annette van der Putten, chair of the management team of the Academic Collaborative Center PIMD
“We are very pleased that we have already received many completed questionnaires from all over the world. Thank you for this! If you still want to participate and share your experience about snoezelen with people with PIMD, you can complete the questionnaire via the following link until 14 June. Thank you in advance! Link: https://aw-emb.nl/en/research/snoezelen-survey-study”
“Wir freuen uns sehr, dass wir bereits viele ausgefüllte Fragebögen aus aller Welt erhalten haben. Vielen Dank dafür! Wenn Sie trotzdem teilnehmen und Ihre Erfahrungen mit Snoezelen mit PIMD-Personen teilen möchten, können Sie den Fragebogen über den folgenden Link bis zum 14. Juni ausfüllen. Vielen Dank im Voraus! Link: https://aw-emb.nl/en/research/snoezelen-survey-study”
« Nous sommes très heureux d’avoir déjà reçu de nombreux questionnaires remplis dans le monde entier. Merci pour cela! Si vous souhaitez toujours participer et partager votre expérience sur le snoezelen avec les personnes atteintes du PIMD, vous pouvez remplir le questionnaire via le lien suivant jusqu’au 14 juin. Merci d’avance! Lien: https://aw-emb.nl/en/research/snoezelen-survey-study »
“Siamo molto lieti di aver già ricevuto molti questionari completati da tutto il mondo. Grazie per questo! Se vuoi ancora partecipare e condividere la tua esperienza su snoezelen con persone con PIMD, puoi completare il questionario tramite il seguente link fino al 14 giugno. Grazie in anticipo!
Link: https://aw-emb.nl/en/research/snoezelen-survey-study”
“Estamos muy contentos de haber recibido ya muchos cuestionarios completados de todo el mundo. ¡Gracias por esto! Si todavía desea participar y compartir su experiencia sobre el snoezelen con personas con PIMD, puede completar el cuestionario a través del siguiente enlace hasta el 14 de junio. Gracias de antemano! Enlace: https://aw-emb.nl/en/research/snoezelen-survey-study”
“Estamos muito satisfeitos por já termos recebido muitos questionários preenchidos de todo o mundo. Obrigado por isso! Se você ainda quiser participar e compartilhar sua experiência sobre snoezelen com pessoas com PIMD, você pode preencher o questionário através do seguinte link até 14 de junho. Obrigado antecipadamente! Link: https://aw-emb.nl/en/research/snoezelen-survey-study”
「すでに世界中から多くのアンケートを受け取っていることを大変嬉しく思います。ありがとう!あなたはまだ参加し、PIMDを持つ人々とスノエゼレンについてのあなたの経験を共有したい場合は、6月14日まで次のリンクを介してアンケートを完了することができます。事前にありがとう!リンク: https://aw-emb.nl/en/research/snoezelen-survey-study”
Dear ISNA-mse official teachers
We would like to present the work of the different countries on our ISNA-MSE homepage.
Therefore we would like to ask if you could either send us some photos from your Snoezelen rooms or photos of working with your clients
If you like, you are welcome to write us a short text about it by presenting your work.
Send us also the the email you would like people to use to contact you
Please send the photos via WeTransfer to svenja.fuhrmann@dein-raum.eu
If you have any questions, simply contact Svenja Fuhrmann or Maurits Eijgendaal.
Thanks in advance – we´re looking forward to your contribution
Maurits and Svenja
Mohawk College’s Multi-Sensory Lab
Located in Room A119 at Fennell Campus
What is the Multi-Sensory Lab all about?
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Incorporates sensory equipment to help clients reach/advance their education and therapy goals.
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The room fosters an environment that blends sights, sounds, textures, aromas and motion to provide stimulation of ones’ primary senses.
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This client-centered room can be modified to meet specific sensory needs.
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The most important benefit of all is that the client will have the opportunity for a meaningful leisure experience!
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Read more and take a tour in the room here
FIRMA CONVENIO ENTRE ISNA Y LA UNIVERSIDAD SANTA PAULA Y CLINICA SANTA PAULA
Offical cooporation between the university of Santa Paulæa, costa rica and ISNA-mse.org.
ISNA-mse has a group of educated teachers, following a special program, approved by ISNA-mse worldwide.
There are many local ISNA-Mse around the world. find your local isna here…. and see if there are local people you can contact
We gather many scientific articles and we create contacts between people all over the globe who seek cooperation.
The published articles on this site are just for members. Login to the members page here..
We have articles in several languages, but as a non member you can see the list of English articles here
Visit Snoezelen rooms in different countries.
Feel free to send YOUR pictures to Svenja
Feel free to send your pictures to maurits@isna-mse.org
