Snoezelen: an approach to the provision of a leisure resource for people with profound and multiple handicaps

This article outlines the history and development of the Snoezelen Centre at Whittington Hall Hospital in Chesterfield. Snoezelen originates from Holland. It is a leisure and recreation facility for people with profound and multiple handicaps. The concept involves creating high quality, purpose built environments which are used in a sensitive and caring way to provide pleasurable sensory stimulation and relaxation. The article describes the environments at Whittington Hall and the activities within them, together with details of the approach to staff development for Snoezelen workers. It also gives the background of a research project associated with the development of the facility, which seeks to evaluate the impact of Snoezelen on the daily lives of the people who use it.