By Jesse Graham
SENSORY mats designed to help people living with intellectual disabilities relieve stress will be on display at Mont De Lancey next month, following an outpouring of community support.
An exhibition of more than 200 sensory mats will be held at Mont De Lancey Historic Homestead through October, organised by the Seville Community House.
Glenice Hopes from the community house said the sensory mats were designed to help people living with intellectual disabilities, or who are on the autism spectrum, and feature objects and textured fabrics that can be felt or played with to help with relaxation.
“They work as a calm-you-down, stress relief, anxiety relief sort of thing,” Ms Hopes said.
She said the community house asked residents to help make mats and donate them to the house, and that more than 200 were made and handed in.
“I worked in the aged care sector for many years, and prior to that, the disability sector, so I understand the need and the wonderful work that these sensory maps … actually do,” she said.
“We were looking to do something as a community project, and this is where it grew from.
“There’s actually flat mats with all sorts of things sewn on them, like buttons, zips … there’s flat mats, there’s cushions … there’s also woodwork boards for those that want it.”
Ms Hopes said Mont De Lancey donated their gallery space for the exhibition, and that special schools, nursing homes and residents were being invited to come out to the exhibition.
“What will happen is people are going to come … and if anyone wants one, we take it off the wall and we give it to them,” she said.
The sensory mats will be free of charge, though Ms Hopes said donations were being accepted – as were further donations of sensory mats.
The exhibition opens on 1 October and runs until the end of the month at Mont De Lancey, 71 Wellington Road, Wandin North.
