We’ve got sisters in their fifties living with Rett syndrome – a rare genetic disorder that affects brain development, resulting in severe mental and physical disability. They have family from Ireland, and they absolutely love Irish Folk Radio. You can see the eye movement and engagement whenever they hear it.

Given the spectrum of needs we cater for, it’s not always about physical movement or behaviour change. It can be more subtle than that and as a carer and nurse you can recognise changes in facial expression, body language and eye movement. You can tell when someone is engaged and watching even without the physical cues.

Because we can get small groups playing the games together, it builds social interaction – something which can be difficult to do with other activities. For those that need 1-2-1 activities, we use it with a curved table, allowing us to get the resident close enough to the lights to be immersed in the experience. This makes a real difference, and the music-based games are very popular. 

It’s helped a lot in reducing distress and bringing about a sense of calm in them both.

We also have a 24-year-old man living with autism. He’s tall and energetic. As a member of staff, it’s about being organised as he has a very short attention span meaning we need everything set up beforehand. He enjoys Balloon Pop and the more physical games.

He becomes quite physically engaged – and it’s obvious to him what he needs to do. Typically, he’ll sit and do an activity for 3-4 minutes. Whilst sat playing these games, that can double to 7 or 8 minutes, and you can see him smiling a lot and enjoying himself. The sensory experience and time sat down is valuable for someone like him.

Finally, we have 1 lady who knows exactly which games she wants to play. She becomes really focused and her hand-eye coordination is excellent. She’ll often play for quite a while.