A new cinema room has been installed at Diverse Abilities children’s site in West Moors.
Funded by Dorset Council Children’s Services Short Breaks Capital Grant scheme, the new facility offers a space for the children who access the service to relax and enjoy the experience of watching a film.
Open after school, during the holidays and at the weekends, the Coping with CHAOS centre provides a vital place for young people with disabilities to hang out and have fun.
The cinema room doubles up as a sensory space to provide immersive experiences provided by sounds and lights.
Diverse Abilities Children’s Team manager, Clare Rochford, said: “The new cinema room can be used by all children and families accessing our short breaks services such as CHAOS, Project and Awesome Nights.
“The room was opened over the Christmas break and the children enjoyed watching Elf, Aladdin, and Home Alone. For some children, going to the cinema may be too overwhelming with their sensory difficulties, having this experience readily available enables them to experience watching a film in a cinema environment with their siblings and or peers.
“The room has been designed to have a dual purpose, it can also be used as a fully immersive sensory environment for the children, using the most state of the art technology. So far this room has definitely had a positive impact on the young people we support.”
Visit https://diverseabilities.org.uk/children/ to find out more about the Children’s Team offering.