A travel agency in Fife has opened a sensory room within its branch to support families with children who are neurodivergent or require special assistance.
Cowdenbeath-based Moorelands Travel transformed the former RBS vault to a space equipped with hearing loops, sensory toys and lights, bean bags, and a projector to play sensory sounds, graphics and movies, which can also be used with games consoles.
It is located adjacent to a private travel appointment room to allow parents to sit with a consultant and plan their holiday while keeping an eye on their children.
Managing Director Scott Paterson said: “I’d been wondering for a while how I could best make use of the dormant vault which sat beside one of our offices. The idea came to me after noticing that we were getting more enquiries and bookings with special assistance requests, particularly from families with hidden disabilities.”
Scott, whose agency is a Barrhead Managed Service Travel Partner, said he wanted to create a ‘safe, welcoming and calmer atmosphere’ for parents with neurodivergent children.
“Everyone should be able to enjoy the holiday booking experience and that is what we are trying to achieve with the opening of the sensory room. Hopefully we can make a little bit of a difference,” he added.
Scott shared his vision with one of his regular clients with two non-verbal autistic children, who agreed that the room would be ‘transformational’ for families like his.
“The vault was the perfect area to transform because it is right next to one of our private appointment offices,” added Soctt. “This means we can book out the space for families who need additional time in a calm environment. We’ll only offer one or two appointments per day – so there will be no rush and families can take as long as they need to book their holiday.”
The sensory room soft-launched to existing clients in January. Barry Adamson, who had given Scott positive feedback at the inception stage, was the first to use the space.
“Having neurodivergent children makes simple things like sitting in a travel agency an impossible task and something we would never have dreamed of doing previously,” he said.
“However, having the dedicated safe and secure sensory space for the kids to have fun and relax, along with friendly, understanding and accommodating staff, meant we could focus on all things holidays.”
