03Dec07 - Changing Rooms

Adaption of your home is something that all families in our position have to face at some point and initially it was very difficult for me to accept. We are now at the stage where builders are coming round to do their site visits before they submit there bids for the work. This has made it very real and it is only going to be a matter of months before the work starts. Having had some time to get used to the idea we have decided that we are going to make the most of it and do as much as we can to make it a lovely place for Lucy to be. Of course we will probably decorate it with a nice girly theme, probably pink because all little girls want pink bedrooms (I think), but we have started to think about more specific sensory ideas. Sensory equipment is not cheap as you will find out if you look through the various catalogues, however it is likely that Lucy is going to spend a lot of time in her new room and it will be really good if we can have a proper sensory room in the house for her. Most of Lucy's vision is in the upper right quadrant so when she is lying in bed she is looking back and to the right. We would like to create a starry night affect with fibre optics on the ceiling and a wall behind her bed which she can enjoy while she is waiting to fall asleep. At the moment she spends an hour or two every other night staring into the darkness and if she had nice twinkly lights to look at I think she would really like it. We have also thought about rotating mirror balls and also a projector which projects slowly rotating images onto the walls and ceiling. If we can also use black-out blinds on the windows then Lucy could use this during the day well. Normally you save up for when your children leave home, go to university or maybe even need their first car, but with Lucy it is more important to provide stimulation and enjoyment for her now. We are still at the ideas stage and are not really sure what we can and can't do. It would be really good if there was someone that could come and show us different options or even design the room for us but I don't even know if such people exist. We will probably just have to use that universal consultant, "Google" and work it out ourselves. Its no big deal, we have been ICU specialists, Physiotherapists, Care Workers, Paramedics, we can deal with epileptic fits and know what dozens of medicines do, so why not Sensory Room Designers as well. At least it has given us something positive to think about and I really can't wait to see what we manage to do with Lucy's room and especially watch her little face when she sees it all for the first time. Any ideas would be gratefully received!!