Cawdor-based mobile sensory room Out There supports children with additional needs and care home residents in the Highlands and Moray
Imagine stepping into what looks like a standard white van only to find yourself in a different dimension, aboard what looks like an alien spaceship, full of glowing lights, switches, mirrors and more.
This quirky space is Out There, a mobile sensory room which travels across the Highlands and Moray to offer a safe space to step out of daily life for people of all ages and needs.
“It can all get quite magical,” says Jon Lane (60), the man behind the project.
With a background as a lighting engineer and rigger in theatres before working with children and adults with learning disabilities, autism and head injuries, Jon decided to set up a sensory bus not long after losing his mum - who suffered from Alzheimer’s - during lockdown.
“I had had this in the back of my mind for some time,” he explained.
“As soon as we were allowed to travel again, I thought ‘well, it's the most natural thing in the world’. We have mobile banks, we have mobile blood and breast screening, libraries, theatres, cinemas…so, why don’t we have a mobile sensory room?”
After picking up a van in York, Jon and his wife stripped it clean, soundproofed it, insulated it and carpeted it while also adding lights and props.
“There's nothing in Scotland that comes anywhere close to what we do,” Jon said. “There's a big double decker bus, which has soft play and sensory as well, but it takes larger groups in and, to me, sensory is a one-to-one experience.”
Jon now travels from his base in Cawdor to a range of schools, care homes and other locations to offer a space where people can switch off and wind down.
“We work with all ages, from a two year-old to over 100,” he said. “We tailor to the individuals. And, once you start getting to know them, it's quite easy.
“It could be some chill out music playing, kids choosing their own music, or when older folks come in we've put some nice 50s stuff on.”
People with dementia are among those benefiting from the space.
“Living with dementia can be confusing, frightening, and upsetting,” Jon said.
“They can come in here, have a moment to themselves, zoning out, chatting away.”
Another big part of his job is supporting children with additional needs.
“There's a lot of things for lots of little minds. We have everything from stretchy things, squishy things, noisy things, puzzly things, and of course, bubbles, because everyone loves bubbles. Some look really simple, they're extremely satisfying.
“I always say to them when they first come in, you can do as much as you like or as little as you like.”
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Where some children prefer to shut themselves in, making themselves comfortable with pillows, weighted blankets and the likes, bouncier youngsters can play with the array of toys and props.
“Nobody wants to be as hyper as some of these kids are, and it's nice to see the mental stress that they perhaps don't even know they're under sometimes just kind of drain out of them,” Jon continued.
“I try and encourage them to explore and just take time out.”
Seeing the benefits the sessions have, Jon says, is very rewarding.
“I used to go over to Aviemore quite regularly and there was a a young girl there who was non-verbal. She used to stand on the bubble tube, and she put her arms around it, because there's a very gentle vibration, but if you put your ear against it, the sound of the bubbles is incredible. And then I started and stopped them.
“She had quite a young support worker sitting on one of the beanbags down there.
“And I said to the girl, ‘Do you like the bubbles?’ And she went, ‘Bubbles!"
“So the girl on the floor burst into tears because she had never heard her say anything.”
Funding for the attendance at schools comes mainly from Cash for Kids, with some schools also funding sessions from their own budgets because of the positive effects they can see for pupils.
But it’s not only the young and the elderly that Jon wants to reach.
“If I could find a nice sugar daddy who wanted to fund some sessions for NHS staff or for school staff — the people that I generally feel are under far too much stress and strain these days — it would be really good,” Jon says
Anyone interested in learning more or supporting Jon’s work can getv in touch via Facebook or email outtherenairn@btinternet.com
