Tim has over 13 years' experience working in the design and manufacture of sensory environments and equipment. He has a unique knowledge of the specific companies' different switching systems and is famliar with the new computer systems that have been developed, or are been currently developed, for sensory areas.

 

He has followed his heart and begun this new phase of his lfe so that he can help provide support, ideas and activities to maximise the untapped potential of sensory environments.

 

Tim has found that there is a void between the commercial companies who design & manufacture the equipment and sensory areas, and the establishments and practitioners who use them. It has been a longstanding issue and comes from misunderstanding each other's roles.

There are reasons for this: 

Commercial Companies react to the wants and needs of their 'customers' but can only provide limited extended support.They have to sell more equipment to survive and need to move on. They are always looking to enhance their products and adjust to changing needs and trends. This takes time and resources. Most would love to give more support. A key point is that they don't know the child, student or user who would be experiencing these areas. It can take a long, long time to develop this understanding. Their job is to show you the tools available.

 

Establishments & Practitioners want to use their environments more usefully but quite often are restricted by a lack of 'know how'. Staff often move on and with them the technical knowledge. Familairity and ease come with time spent in these environments. Often, timetabling and staff shortages prevent this-time is always a major issue. Practitioners need to know how to access the equipment quickly, how to exploit its flexibilty and understand its role as a tool.They are, of course, in a better position to know the child, student or user. They need to be enabled to know how best to use this tool to achieve their aims.

 

The Void. This leaves a void that a trainer can help fill. Usually there are budgets for training and allocated timetabling. Trainers can be employed to help fill this void with suggested activities, resources and useful strategies.

In an ideal world there would be a dedicated sensory practitioner who would 'enable' to assist the various users. In this way, the true potential of the children, students and users, who experience these areas, can have more chance of been achieved.

thoughts