Hello, I am Cara, the face behind AMS Sensory Creations. I have worked with adults with learning disabilities, autism, dementia and other support needs for many years. In my experience I have used my creativity to help people with multiple and complex needs to communicate in their own way and experience the world using all their senses. I have found that people with complex needs often experience and process sensory information in different ways and can have a richer experience if something is offered in a way that accesses hearing, touch, smell and taste as well as sight. I have also found that while there are many, many sensory resources available, a lot of them are pitched at babies or children and it is hard to find things that are accessible but age and stage appropriate. AMS Sensory Creations aims to provide sensory products, resources and ideas aimed specifically at adults with additional support needs and the people working with and supporting them.

Why Sensory Interaction and Exploration?

We all experience the world around us in a variety of ways and engage all of our senses, often without realising we are doing it. We use our senses to help us engage with the world and connect with each other. People with a learning disability or people living with dementia may experience the information from their senses in different ways. They may be hypersensitive to particular sensory information and, for example, be overwhelmed by bright colours or loud noises. Their senses may be duller than expected or their brain takes longer to process sensory information. Products specifically designed to help people with sensory needs specifically separate out the different senses and provide stimulation and interaction targeted at engaging a specific sense or exploring a theme engaging all or some of the senses. By targeting the senses the product and engagement activity can help the person to take control of the sensory information their brain is processing to regulate or stimulate a reaction.

Sensory interaction and exploration can also be used to aid and support communication and provide an individual with an experience they can engage in. This is particularly evident in individuals with advanced dementia. I worked with an individual who had learning disabilities and advanced dementia. We were working on a project making carnival headdresses and he was not showing any engagement at all. I decided to focus on the senses of sight and touch and hone in on those to help him engage in the activity and benefit from it. At this point he was non-verbal and so I wanted to support his communication using sensory information. I offered him opportunity to touch or look at things or withdraw his touch or gaze as a way of communicating how he was feeling about the activity. I chose 2 contrasting brightly coloured pieces of tissue paper and held them close enough for him to see them. I then asked him which one he would like to use on his headdress and looked to see which one he looked at for the longest. The colour that help his gaze for longest went on his headdress. I did this 3 times with different pairs being aware of his energy levels and length of time he was able to engage in an activity. To engage his sense of touch I scrunched the tissue paper into a ball and had it in strips and brushed these different textures onto his cheeks and watched his facial expression. When I brushed the strips of tissue paper along his cheeks he smiled and leaned his head forward. When I brushed the scrunched up balls of tissue paper against his cheeks he puled his head away and didn't change his facial expression. As his reaction suggested he preferred the texture of the strips of tissue paper I stuck these onto his headdress rather than the scrunched up balls.

What is AMS Sensory Creations?

AMS Sensory Creations will create and provide art based products that will help others have similar experiences and benefits from sensory interaction using our products and guides for their use. It is my belief that everyone deserves to engage in the world and have experiences they can access and benefit from. I hope you enjoy using my products and learning from my experiences as much as I have enjoyed making them and sharing my experiences.