Sensory Dark Rooms

A Sensory Dark Room is a type of Sensory Room. It is a useful sensory resource ideal for carrying out visual assessments. They are widely used by Visual Impairment teams and Occupational Therapists to gauge the visual ability of the client. They can also be called Dark Rooms, VI Rooms and Blacklight Rooms. The equipment used and the purpose of the room are the same.

With regular use, visual impairment can be monitored. Activities used to develop hand-eye co-ordination and tracking skills. The bright and vivid sensory elements will stand out from the dark background allowing the client to distinguish where possible.

The rooms are best decorated in dark colours. This reduces reflections and provides the highest level of contrast possible. This will help make sensory elements stand out for clients with visual impairment and provides the best possible setting for visual tracking and assessment tasks.

Dark Room Gallery

Things to Consider with VI Rooms

Ideally, the room should be as dark as possible. Blackout blinds fitted to both internal and external windows and even strip fitted to the base of doors to cut out ambient light. The sensory equipment supplied can range from simple UV Reactive Sensory items and handheld sensory toys to interactive panels and bubble tubes. This all depends on the requirements of the space and clients.

The main feature of any room should be black light (UV Lighting). This emits a filtered light of approximately 365nm. Cutting out other parts of the spectrum and creating very little actual light. Fluorescent and glow in the dark items will then illuminate brightly against the darkened space.

If you would like help in setting up a Sensory Dark Room then please get in touch. We offer a FREE No-Obligation design and Proposal Service. We will listen to both your requirements and budget. Then tailor a system to suit the space you have available.