About Us

The sensory Xperience began as an idea, on a Saturday morning in mid October 2022. The idea began as a loosely structured concept, then after much thought and discussion, on an almost daily basis, by mid November the idea had grown and quickly developed into the 7 month project it became, in going from an idea to opening the doors to the public for the first time on 4th July 2023.

Initial thoughts were to build a small premises in our back garden that would house a multi-sensory room, but as we discussed ideas more the project itself got larger, more diverse, and more innovative.

We are a family of five. Mum and dad (Colleen and Ciaran), daughter, who is 21 years of age, and our two sons, now aged 11 and 9. Our daughter has just recently graduated with a First Class Honours Degree in Law at John Moore’s University in Liverpool, and our sons, the youngest in primary, and the oldest going into secondary, school for Special Educational Needs (SEN), have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Global Processing Delay, Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which presents both of them with severe learning difficulties, whilst our youngest son is non-speaking and our eldest son suffers with anxiety.

During the process of having our oldest son diagnosed with ASD we realised quite quickly that there is a lack of adequate support and resources available to children with additional needs and their parents. Then, when our youngest son displayed certain characteristics as he became a toddler, despite us having much more understanding of the process, it was not much easier, and again the lack of support and resources were still very apparent. Diagnosis was only part of the story though. Things that would normally be straightforward for many, simply weren’t for us. Such things as a family day trip or a visit to a restaurant,  a trip to the doctor or dentist, sometimes even a simple trip to the local shop, often took extra thought and planning. More serious issues such as education were particularly difficult to navigate. Never a quiet day in our house, and despite all the wee hurdles, family life is great, we’re incredibly proud of all our children, but we never stop learning as we go!

Back to our project though…………………………..

There are very few resources, both locally and countrywide, to cater exclusively for people with additional needs, both children and adults. This is despite the longstanding and ever-growing need for that diversity within modern society. While some people with special needs can reasonably, or even easily, cope with activities that are considered “normal”, so many simply cannot, and the options beyond the “normal” are extremely limited.

When we began brainstorming about what quickly became known as The sensory Xperience, we had some very clear aims in mind. We wanted somewhere safe and secure, where everyone felt comfortable and no-one ever had to say sorry, and no-one felt that they were judged. Somewhere that catered exclusively for those with additional needs, simply just to allow everyone to be themselves, and allow them some of the opportunities that not everywhere can offer, opportunities that so many others can readily enjoy. It was important for us, to create somewhere that parents and carers could gain some benefit from, as parents and carers are often the forgotten ones. We wanted to have a big space, with different environments within that space, to try to cater for as many needs as possible. It was almost like gathering up our thoughts from the many experiences we’ve had with our boys over the years and imagining a place that we’d all love to go to and all enjoy. It was also very important for us to get professional guidance with the project and in this respect we were very lucky to work with Shanua @ Abil-OT, a qualified Occupational Therapist (OT) who is also trained in Ayres Sensory Integration.

Almost five months to the day since getting the keys of our premises in Armagh, The sensory Xperience opened its doors for the first time on 4th July 2023! After much stress and a lot of work, we believe we’ve created a space that meets our own expectations and aims. Much more importantly, we believe we’ve created a space that everyone who visits will enjoy and gain benefit from, be they a child, a young person or an adult, with additional needs, or their parents or carers ……. but we’ll let everyone else be the judge of that!!!