People without verbal language can be helped to engage with the world through their senses. Jo Grace describes how this can be put into practice.
People who experience the world in a primarily sensory way are often, but not exclusively, people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD), people with later stage dementia who no longer communicate with verbal language or individuals on the autistic spectrum who engage with the world primarily in a sensory way.
By creating ‘sensory tours’ we aim to help people encounter the sensory experiences on offer. Tours we have created for some of London’s best known heritage settings have proved particularly rewarding – the King’s state apartments at Kensington Palace were the most memorable as they gave me a perfumist to work with who created the smell of Georgian sweat for use on the tour!
It is not always easy for people to connect with the environment the first time they experience it. Its unfamiliarity can make them feel anxious and less able to process information. They may not know how to control their body in response to it; it takes practice to know how to bend your fingers around a branch or turn your eyes in a particular direction.
If we can offer people the opportunity to have predictable repeated experiences they will have the chance to learn more about the world. As we repeat experiences they get more from them each time. Research in various fields of sensory engagement work– for example, in sensory stories and multi sensory rooms – shows a common trend. At first you are unlikely to get much response from someone having a new experience but if you repeat these experiences in a predictable way responses will gradually increase until eventually they peak and then begin to drop off.
Think about a place you visit – could you create a predictable pathway around it for someone? We often do the same things when we visit a place. Could you organise your visit to create a little ritual around all or part of it? Building verbal cues into this predictable path will help the person ready their senses to take in the experience you are offering them. These can be very simple and factual; for example, saying: “Feel the plants”. You would need to decide in advance how to phrase verbal cues so they follow the same pattern. My Kensington tour was told a historical narrative as we moved around the King’s state apartments.
Once you have the route and some verbal cues, what is then needed is the most important part: the sensory experiences. Choosing sensory experiences relevant to the early phases of sensory development means you can include more people. What sorts of experiences are most likely to resonate with them? The way the experiences are facilitated will also alter their quality and the ability of people to connect with them. They can also be used to support memory, communication, cognitive development, mental well being, learning, concentration, and engagement with the world.
Before creating your sensory tour I would advise visiting the place and really sense it yourself. Try to think with just your eyes, registering what they are drawn to. Is there a bright point of light against a dark background, something flickering, something red standing out? Don’t use your brain to decide what is interesting. For example, a map is only interesting visually if you understand that it is a map that shows you a place. If you look at it with your sight and not your brain, it’s probably just a dull sheet of paper.
Move along the route you have planned and think with each of your senses. Try to cover them all in the course of your tour so when you bring the person to experience the tour they have all of their sensory systems stimulated. We have 33 sets of neurons that control our sensory systems but an ideal tour will have less than ten stopping points in it.
Once your sensory tour is developed, enjoy it with the person you support and try to visit regularly, if possible at the same time of day so that the different experiences of the tour are as similar as possible. Over time you’ll notice the person you’re supporting responding to and engaging more with the environment around them. You will have helped them make a real connection with a part of their community.
