BYU helps provide multi-sensory room at school for special education in Jerusalem

SALT LAKE CITY — The BYU Jerusalem Center recently celebrated the opening of a new multi-sensory room at a school for special education.

The Snoezelen Room was built at the Al-Basma Special Education School in Beit Hanina, Jerusalem, through a donation from LDS Charities and the BYU Jerusalem Center. Officials held a grand opening for the room on Sept. 19.

A multi-sensory stimulation room is “a therapeutic environment designed to stimulate senses and promote relaxation for individuals with sensory processing issues, developmental disabilities and, in this case, autistic kids,” said Tawfic Alawi, associate director of BYU Jerusalem.

The Snoezelen Room is equipped with soft lighting, soothing sounds, tactile objects and visual stimulation that help support relaxation, communication and cognitive development.

“This room is one of the few in the country, and such rooms have proved very beneficial. The room at Al-Basma is the first for the community it serves, and we are sure that putting it into use will benefit immensely the students at their school, and thus benefiting the communities they come from,” Alawi said.

BYU Jerusalem receives donations from private individuals, which it uses for humanitarian work in East Jerusalem and in both Palestinian and Israeli areas, Alawi said. The center primarily promotes projects that focus on youth, families and community development, he said.

The center came to know the Al-Basma school through other work in the community and saw the great work the school was doing for autistic children. When approached to fund the project, the center agreed to help.

BYU Jerusalem partnered with LDS Charities to fund the project, which the center oversaw from planning through implementation as the room was constructed over the last three months.

“The new Snoezelen Room at Al-Basma school places it as one of the leading institutions for special education in the country,” the center said on social media.