Transforming lives with sensory technology

Sensory technology has been making a real difference to the people we support at The Maltings Day and Community Service in Norfolk.

The OMi is a motion activated projector that can be used on walls, floors, tables and more. It comes with over 300 programmes with games where users can stomp on bubbles to pop them, or relaxing environments such as rainforests or the depths of the ocean accompanied with ambient sounds.

Nikki Newstead, Service Manager, told us about the benefits of having an OMi at The Maltings.

The OMi is in constant use as it is so popular with the people we support. The great thing about it is that it makes a sensory session accessible to absolutely everyone, even if they have complex needs or physical disabilities.

It has been a fantastic addition to our sensory room and we are reaping the benefits. We can have very active sensory sessions by playing a game which encourages people to interact with each other and keep fit, or we can have very calm sessions which help to relax people who may be anxious or have challenging behaviour.

Sam, a lady we support, was very withdrawn and didn’t want to interact with anyone when she first came to The Maltings. However, since she has started using the OMi we have seen her grow in confidence and start to come out of herself. She watched other people having fun with the projector and has even started to engage with them which she wouldn’t have done before. Hopefully she will continue this brilliant progress with our support and more sessions.”

The benefits of a sensory room are undeniable, but sometimes having sensory equipment like the OMi projector is only possible with fundraised money. If you would like to know more about fundraising for FitzRoy to help us supply more ground breaking technology for the people we support, click here.