New sensory clinic for children with autism, other challenges opens in Fredericton

It's expected that over the next year more than 100 children and youth will spend time using the new sensory clinic recently opened in Fredericton, the Horizon Health Network says.

A sensory room is a space that's built to accommodate and stimulate different senses therapeutically.

"So many ... environments are very overwhelming and overstimulating for our children, especially children that are autistic," said Sarah Morrison, an occupational therapist at Horizon Health involved in setting up the clinic.

She said the clinic will also help children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and anxiety, among other challenges.

"A fundamental thing, as a child or a youth, is being able to participate in your environment," said Morrison. "To be able to access things in a way that are comfortable for you, a way that you can feel happy, you can feel safe — that's such a basic thing." 

The items in the clinic, and the on-site team, help young people with issues around sensory processing.

There is a swing made of cloth, a mini-trampoline, a calming tent and even a virtual reality headset. 

"We are actually one of the — I think the only — virtual reality program in Horizon. And so this offers access to a variety of different virtual environments where they can have various sensory exposure to certain situations to help increase tolerance and see which tools would work," said Morrison.

There is also a body sock and a deep-pressure sensory pod or canoe.

"And so you can lay down in that, and using the handles, you can kind of give yourself more or less pressure. And then you can listen to your teacher, you can read, you can listen to some music," said Laura Dooley, an occupational therapist with Horizon Health, who was also involved in setting up the clinic. 

"We would call them tools, but kids would call them 'fun' or 'toys,'" she said.

Exposing children to the different stimulation and observing reactions will help give parents and teachers an idea of how to create a more comfortable environment for those children, said Dooley.

"We were seeing a big need for sensory processing supports," she said, even something as simple as a weighted lizard to help calm youngsters and enable them to sit without needing to move around constantly.

There are also a number of items that parents can borrow to try out at home, things like a truck meal set," so for our picky eaters, you can make meal time a little bit more fun by having to bring food from one place to the other," Morrison said.

According to Horizon Health spokesperson Kris McDavid, children are "referred to the clinic through the Child and Youth teams" at Horizon's mental health services.