Artist's rendering of the OSE.

The Heinzerling Foundation wishes to design and build an Outdoor Sensory Environment (OSE) on a 2-acre plot of land on the current campus. The area will be divided into different areas to stimulate the senses – a fragrance garden, a water fun area, an adapted play equipment area, a sound/visual garden and an open space with grass and rubberized play surface. At the center of all this will be a colorful shade structure.

The benefits from the OSE will be numerous. Some Heinzerling residents with very limited physical capabilities lack the opportunities to experience movement sensations. It is often easy to see that our residents have physical limitations, but problems with sensory processing are not as obvious. Almost all of our residents lack the ability to receive sensory input and process it optimally in order to accurately interpret their environment. The OSE will provide stimulation for all these sensory systems with built-in movement stimuli that residents can experience in their wheelchairs with textured pathways, swings and a wheelchair-accessible moving platform called a Sway Fun.

Many Heinzerling residents are also defensive or hypersensitive to touch and movement. They tend to become upset or withdraw from contact with their environment and even personal interactions, thus limiting their ability to learn and progress with skill development. These residents need to be encouraged very slowly, within their comfort zone, to experience different touch and movements. As their sensory system accommodates and they no longer perceive these interactions as aversive, they are able to respond more appropriately and learning can take place. The OSE will provide many opportunities for sensory experiences that will progressively allow these residents to tolerate and react to the world around them.

There are also residents who are extremely active, busy people, trying to take in as much of their world as they can. Their nervous systems crave movement and as much sensory input as possible. Sometimes they don’t sleep well and become so distracted by competing stimuli that it is hard for them to complete a task. They can look very disorganized and scattered. These residents need to be bombarded with movement and tactile activities until their nervous systems are satiated which then allows some organization and more appropriate responses. They are no longer driven to constantly seek sensory input and can slow down and learn to interact more effectively. This process is often slow and difficult to complete, but the OSE will provide many opportunities to facilitate this progression toward more normal sensory perception and response.

These are just some of the examples of how the OSE will benefit Heinzerling’s residents and reasons why it will be such an important addition to the services we provide. Please call Tanna Slaven at 614.272.8888 or email develop@heinzerling.org for more information or to support the OSE.