Building Resilient Communities
- #RecoverSouthCoast
- Antimicrobial Resistance
- Building Community Resilience to Bushfires
- Community Resilience
- Cultural Burning for Resilience
- Cultural Revitalisation
- Disability inclusion and capacity building for emergencies
- Microfinance and Women's Empowerment
- Olivier Ferrer Fund
- Ready for Anything
- Sense Spaces
- Smart Cities for understanding living in Liverpool
- Stories affording pathways to healing
- Stronger Culture, Healthier Lifestyles
- Sustainability in STEM
- Weed management in post-fire landscapes
Sense Spaces
Multi-sensory environments often contain equipment such as fibre optics sprays, bubble tubes, music, colour, lighting and aroma boards which can be used by users to provide either calming or stimulatory experiences.
The initial catalyst for this project was a needs assessment conducted by CareWays Community that showed a need for a multi-sensory environment at the Horsely Community Centre. Researchers at the University of Wollongong worked with CareWays Community to establish a multisensory room that met the needs of the community. The CareWays Community Sensory Room officially opened on July 1, 2017.
The team have collaborated on a UOW Community Engagement Grant to establish a website that provides guidance to both individuals and organisations who want to create a multi-sensory space for their home or community.
Funding received in 2019 will be used to examine the immediate and lasting impact of using an MSE. The introduction of a design thinking approach with a coordinated communications plan will be used to drive this phase of the research.
Sensory room
Multi-sensory environments provide a safe, non-threatening environment for people with cognitive, behavioural and physical impairments to engage in a range of sensory experiences. The experiences provided by a MSE can both calm and stimulate the primary senses using sensory-based materials such as fibre optics sprays, bubble tubes, music, colour, lighting and aroma.
- Creating an Accessible and Inclusive Community with the SMILE Sensory Room, UOW Global Challenges, 3 December 2019
- Take a sneak peek of what a sensory room looks like, and what it means for the Illawarra community, WIN TV, 29 June 2017
- Illawarra’s first community-based multi-sensory environment opens, UOW, 28 June 2017
- A interdisciplinary team of UOW researchers preparing to launch a multi-sensory environment for CareWays Community, UOW Research, June 2017
- Multi-sensory room to provide additional disability services to Illawarra, UOW, 27 October 2016
- The Illawarra's first multi-sensory rooms will be set up to help those with a disability, WIN TV, 26 October 2016
Publications
- Cameron, A., Burns, P., Garner, A., Lau, S., Dixon, R., Pascoe, C., & Szafraniec, M. (2019). Making Sense of Multi-Sensory Environments: A Scoping Review. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 00(00), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912X.2019.1634247
- Mayersen, D., Dixon, R., Lau, S., Garner, A., Burns, P., Cameron, A., Pascoe, C. & Szafraniec, M. 2019, ""She Would Love That": Identifying Community Needs in a Multisensory Environment", Progress in Community Health Partnerships, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 5-6. http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/10.1353/cpr.2019.0002
The team
Project Management Team
- Dr Holly Tootell, School of Computing and Information Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Information Systems
- Dr Pippa Burns, Graduate School of Medicine, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health
- Dr Grant Ellmers, School of the Arts, English and Media, Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities
- Dr Sue Slowikowski, School of Business, Faculty of Business and Law
- Mr Michael Szafraniec, Operations Manager, Careways Community
Advisory Group
- Assoc Prof. Rose Dixon, School of Education, Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities
- Dr Sim Lau, School of Computing and Information Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences
- Dr Andrea Garner, Leader of Teaching and Learning, Alesco Illawarra
- Mrs Carly Pascoe, Community Engagement Officer, Wollongong City Council
Collaborating Team Members
- Mr Jade Kennedy, Indigenous Knowledges, Learning, Teaching and Curriculum
- Ms Jaymee Beveridge, Director, Woolyungah Indigenous Centre
- Ms Martha Johnson, Manager Education & Experiences, Early Start Discovery Space
- Mr Matt Ball, Volunteer & Community Coordinator, Early Start Discovery Space
- Dr Jane Warren, School of Education, Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities
- Dr Karen Tonge, School of Education, Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities
- Mrs Naomi Sheridan, PhD Candidate, School of Computing and Information Technology
