In 1991, there was little awareness in North America of the European concept of SNOEZELEN. Many North American professionals have since related their search for something new that would help them in their care, treatment and understanding of their clients. But while they sought a different approach beyond the traditional, clinical methodologies, the idea of creating multi-sensory environments was still an ocean away.

FlagHouse management encountered SNOEZELEN during visits to Europe in 1991. It was a cathartic experience for some. In Britain, Barbara McCormack, now a FlagHouse Vice President, discovered that her two year old severely challenged, blind, daughter actually had some vision in a SNOEZELEN setting. In further visits, FlagHouse staff witnessed the extraordinary potential of SNOEZELEN to have a positive impact on the lives of people with disabilities. As a company already involved in the world of disability with the Special Populations catalog, SNOEZELEN was a natural extension. Later that year, FlagHouse signed an exclusive distribution agreement for North America with ROMPA International, the owners of the SNOEZELEN trademark.

The first FlagHouse launch of SNOEZELEN in the Fall of 1992, was a small 24 page catalog describing the SNOEZELEN concept and offering new, unusual and exciting products. The response was immediate and phenomenal. The first two SNOEZELEN multi-sensory environments were installed at Lifespire (formerly ACRMD) in New York City, an organization serving the needs of adults with intellectual and physical disabilities, and Bloorview MacMillan Children's Centre (formerly Bloorview Children's Hospital), a children's long term care hospital and rehabilitation center in Toronto, Canada. The SNOEZELEN movement in North America had begun!

The news of SNOEZELEN spread rapidly with new installations hosting hundreds of visitors each year, media coverage and professional networking. As a result, SNOEZELEN use has grown exponentially each passing year. Today there are over 700 installations in North America and SNOEZELEN can be found in almost every state of the United States, every province and territory in Canada, and in Mexico. The user base has grown and diversified alongside. In North America, SNOEZELEN can now be found in schools, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, group homes, day programs, mental health facilities, hospices, centers for people with substance abuse, early childhood programs, autism programs, anger management programs and many more.

The culmination of almost a decade's effort by FlagHouse, and by the many clients and professionals who have traveled the SNOEZELEN journey with us, was in 1999 at the 3rd SNOEZELEN World Congress in Toronto, Canada, and the North American SNOEZELEN Conference in 2000. These exceptional events brought together the worldwide SNOEZELEN community to North America to share information and experiences, present research and discover new approaches.

FlagHouse is dedicated to further customer training, an expanded trainer certification program, an extension of client services and most exciting, a vast new array of exceptional products. There are now two fully equipped mobile SNOEZELEN trailers on the road, the first sensory evaluation and therapy center in North America will shortly open in Toronto, supported by a significant SNOEZELEN presence, and we begin work on the creation of a brand new Sensory Center in Florida.

No doubt, SNOEZELEN occupies a fast-moving and very exciting area of our business. But our SNOEZELEN focus remains, as always, to help and support our customers to enhance the quality of life of the clients they serve.