Young adults receiving care from a South Hams charity are benefiting from a new, state-of-the-art sensory room.

The room has been installed at Hannahwood, part of Hannahs in Ivybridge that helps students transition from adolescence to adulthood through care, therapy and learning opportunities.

Hannahs approached sensory equipment specialists Experia to create the room, for users ranging from individuals able to walk independently to those with very restricted body movement.

The room was created using Experia’s Multisensory Interactive Learning Environment technology. The cutting-edge technology means the room can be tailored to simulate different environments, so sensory learning can be enhanced with a simulation of skydiving or being underwater, for example.

Experia’s wireless technology allows people to control the room themselves through tablet computers and switches. Being able to control their environment promotes self-awareness among users, allowing individuals to increase their skills in a calm environment.

Activities and events manager at Hannahs Bex Marshall said: "The sensory room has had a huge impact on a range of users here in Hannahwood and helps encourage independence, allowing them to stay in their peer groups to learn.

"We use the room for our weekly college groups as it provides a chilled-out atmosphere which increases engagement with tasks. The room has had a great effect on users’ behaviour, especially in helping some users come out of agitated behaviour.

"The young adults who use the room feel empowered as they are able to control the settings, and we’ve seen a positive reaction from those who wouldn’t normally have used the room thanks to the environmental controls."

Experia director Gareth Jones said: “This was a great project to work on and I am so pleased that users at Hannahs are benefitting from the room already.

"We wanted to create a sensory room which would be both an engaging learning space and also a calm environment where the young adults can relax. It’s always so rewarding to hear what a difference having access to sensory equipment makes and the feedback from the team at Hannahs has been fantastic.”