Wood Snoezelen. Multisensory wooden environments for students with disabilities in the primary school of Lozzo Atestino

The paper presents the results of a funded research project titled "Wood Snoezelen", which aims to study and design a ‘snoezelen environment’ using wood components. The term 'snoezelen' - a word originating from the contraction of the Dutch words 'snuffelen' (to explore) and 'doezelen' (to rest) - refers to environments aimed at the multi-sensory stimulation of persons with severe and/or very severe disabilities, mainly of an intellectual character. In these spaces, multisensory stimulation takes place through the specific use, established by an expert caregiver, of equipment and tools such as optical fibres, light columns, systems for producing sounds and/or vibrations, diffusers of essences and tactile materials. Numerous studies and scientific research attest to the effectiveness of multisensory stimulation provided within a ‘snoezelen room’ both on elderly people (Alzheimer's and dementia) and on individuals with developmental disabilities (autism spectrum disorders, Rett syndrome, ADHD); other research also highlights the use of multisensory rooms within school buildings. Therefore, the diffusion of ‘snoezelen environments’ in school buildings is considered of considerable importance to offer an educational and inclusive offer to schoolchildren with disabilities. This approach is in line with the intention to transform schools into an inclusive space proposed by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD), reaffirmed by Goal 4-SDG4 of the Education 2030 Agenda, and in Italy by the guidelines "Futura. Progettare, costruire e abitare la scuola " of the Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza (PNRR). Moreover, including a space for therapy, such as ‘snoezelen’, is consistent with the World Health Organization (WHO) proposal that schools are suitable for long-term therapy. Therefore, the increase and spread of these multi-sensory environments could increase and improve the rehabilitation process of students and implement the type of sensory-perceptive aids available to the school. The rehabilitative and multisensory aspect of the ‘snoezelen approach’ is, in this context, emphasised using wood, whose properties can have beneficial effects in terms of health and comfort, as well as influencing perceptual and psychological aspects. In addition, studies have demonstrated the potential of wood as an ideal material for the design of rooms for the accommodation of dependent persons, while one project shows the effectiveness of a wooden interior envelope for visually impaired schoolchildren. The previously mentioned issues gave rise to the ‘Wood Snoezelen’ environment, designed with interior components - raised floors, false ceilings, partition walls, etc. - predominantly made of wood. Subsequently, the research findings were applied to the design of the first ‘Wood Snoezelen’ for the primary school of Lozzo Atestino, Veneto (IT). The multisensory room, placed inside an unused classroom, presents an internal wooden envelope, where false walls, false ceilings and raised floors themselves become multisensory devices and integrate the ‘snoezelen instruments’ (bubble tubes, water beds, fibre optics and projectors).