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Aromatherapy for Special needs
One of the problems I experienced while using aromatherapy with people with learning disabilities is the lack of structure and planning to sessions, and the failure of staff and management to recognise the real potential for benefit.
Without structure and planning, aromatherapy is often regarded as little more than a pleasant and relaxing activity. With this in mind, I developed the Sensory Assessment Schedule to help plan sessions, evaluate progress, optimise learning, and to help give more credence to the benefits of using aromatherapy in special needs.
The Sensory Schedule was presented to the Royal College of Nursing Complementary Therapies in Nursing Conference in October 2001.
This presentation outlines the key points of the Schedule. It outlines the evidence for learning through interaction and exploration of the environment, and also the important role of the senses in learning. It shows how the Schedule relates aromatherapy and massage activities to the acquisition of key skills and also the National Curriculum. It also will show how sessions can be evaluated by translating simple observations into visual data in order to quickly ascertain key areas of progress and non-progress for future goal planning.
