SafeSpaces - anyone have one?

[NikkiSmith]

The OT came this morning and this was her suggestion for ds2's room - www.safespaces.co.uk

 

I can see her point, if ds2 is totally padded and safe he cannot hurt himself but surely sealing him alone in a padded cell won't mean I can ignore him screaming and go to sleep!

 

Anyone have one and can convince me I'm wrong?

 

She wants to swap his room over to his younger brother's smaller room and give him a SafeSpace, but my gut instinct says that changing his room over and enclosing him all night won't help him relax and sleep, just stress him out at being trapped!

 

 

Any replies would be good as she is coming back at 4pm to meet ds2 and to hear my views on her suggestions!

 

 

Thanks,

Nikki.

[Mumble]

Hi Nikki,

 

I was intrigued by your post so I had at look at your link. I'm not a parent (but I do have AS and my brother is autistic), and I have taught children from the ages of 3 - 13, so this is just my humble opinion:

 

I'm afraid I have to agree with you (which probably doesn't help your decision making). This feels to me like putting on a 'sticking plaster' rather than having to commit to resources to get at underlying difficulties. I would have hated having anything like this - reduced space, PVC walls (I wonder how the light would reflect off these - it would cause me sensory issues if they don't have a matt finish), and, I think most importantly a complete change - room and 'decoration'. And if it's screaming, rather than banging on the walls, that is the bigger problem, then this explicitly says that it is designed to ensure that the occupant can still be heard, which wouldn't seem to help in your situation. Also if you were to take this option, it doesn't seem to me as something designed to change/control behaviour and as such I would worry about what happens as he gets bigger. When my brother was younger and at home (he went into residential care fairly young) this sort of thing wasn't available - and he had some terrible rages where he would hurt himself and me/my mum - my mum used to use things like cot bumpers (I think she made her own larger ones) and those rounded plastic cornery things on anything sharp. Is there an intermediate step you could try (some padded areas round the bed for example) to see if this might help and how he copes with the change/material etc. before spending all that money on something that might make the problems worse? Maybe your OT knows someone with one that you could visit (I think it would be easier to assess the 'real thing') - maybe your son could have a look at one - particularly if it had something like the ball pool so it's seem as something fun rather than as a punishment for behaviour he probably can't control?

 

I hope this is some help.

 

Mumble

Edited March 13, 2007 by Mumble

[Lynden]

Hi Nikki

 

How did you get on with the OT again? I had a look at that and to be honest I think Logan would love that sort of thing as a play environment, but I can almost guarantee it would make no difference at all to his sleep issues, other than he wouldn't be able to headbang.

 

There have to be other solutions. Its blooming expensive too!!

 

Lynne

[NikkiSmith]

Thanks for the replies - Mumble your repliy really did help to get my head around it all.

 

After I posted on here I rang the SafeSpaces company to ask lots of questions and the more I asked the more it didn't sound right for ds2 and it really doesn't seem to be the kind of thing that is going to last him for long!

Next I called the social worker to sound her out about it and she said to listen to the OT's ideas and if they really weren't much use she could organise a meeting with several professionals to assist the OT to understand the manicness in this house. SW then proceeded to phone the OT to tell her to tread carefully with me!

 

The OT came at 4 and stayed for over an hour; she admitted that when she came the first time her remit had been that the windows and doors needed locks........ well the referral was made over a year ago!

She didn't know of anyone around here who had a SafeSpace and said the only family who were going to have one decided against it in favour of using the Disabled Facilities Grant towards having a loft conversion!!

 

I think I prefer the idea of using the loft to gain more space and giving ds2 and ds3 a multi-sensory room that they can chill out in.

 

So she is due to return next Thursday to see what my feelings on her suggestions are and what I want to happen next.

 

 

Sorry that was so long!

 

 

Thanks,

Nikki.

[JsMum]

Well I did actually look into this a while ago and it stopped abrutly when I was told the average cost, for a basic structure and mattress its thousands of pounds, there is scope for effective lighting and matt finished colours, with fibre optics and specailist lighting system in the actual room but this increases the cost considerably.

 

we could no way afford one of the safespace, so we invested in a large shed and kitted it out with a indoor sandpit, and desk area, its got posters and he loves the space it gives him, we are getting a joiner to add some bunks so he can have it as a den and placing the sandpit in the garden.

 

I think the safespace looks fantastic as a relieving stress but wouldnt use it as an osolation place when J was in a rage as he would not learn the effective methods he has learnt over the year, but a great place for a theraputic enviroment and similair to a sensory room.

 

JsMum

[NikkiSmith]

JSMum - the price is socking isn't it!! I cannot get my head around how a metal frame with industrial pvc stretched around it and can all be installed in 90 minutes can cost over �3000! Nevermind adding in any extras or accessories.

 

Luckily the OT says that this grant has a limit of �25,000 and you only get one go at it - so if they install a safespace now and spend say �4000 on it, then from what I understand, that's it. We cannot go back to them and say it hasn't worked can we now go down the huge extension idea?

 

The shed sounds like a much more useful space! (can I come and hide in it please?)

And that was my theory on the loft conversion, if he had more space indoors that was only for him, he could have his minimalistic bedroom for the few hours he does sleep and then another room for entertaining, but relaxing activities for the rest of the night so that I could actually get some sleep.

 

Must try and find someone who has actually succeeded down this route really!

 

Nikki.