Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Autism in short is a complex, lifelong developmental disability that typically appears during early childhood and can impact a person’s social skills, communication, relationships, and self-regulation.

Going by the name it is clear that there are a number of ways that autism manifests itself in children with some being oversensitive (hyper sensitive) and others being under sensitive (hypo sensitive) to various sensory stimuli around including sound.

From the work we have done with special needs schools it is clear that there is an important role that acoustic treatment plays in helping children who are over sensitive to sound. While acoustic treatment may not stop the sounds entering or leaving a room the absorption of sound that is resonant in spaces can go some way in making children feel safer and improve their overall wellbeing.

In the home your autistic child may for example avoid going to the kitchen or entering the hallway  simply because of the excessive stimulation they get from these rooms, which are generally very bright and reverberant. Modern interior decor with laminated flooring, bare walls and minimalistic furnishings can further exacerbate the situation for anyone who is hyper sensitive to sound. Creating an environment that is both uncomfortable and unpleasant.

There are simple solutions which could include using noise cancelling ear phones, ear plugs or ear defenders to block out excessive noise. However, anyone who has used these knows how cumbersome it is to have to wear this as you go about your day, and that’s for adults leave alone children. Furthermore these solutions aren’t necessarily socially friendly with the user being cut off from those around them reducing their social interaction and thereby creating even more issues.

A more practical solution is to acoustically treat spaces that are regularly used to reduce the resonance and reflection of sound waves, creating spaces that feel quieter and cosy. Where cost is an issue treating a room which can be used as a calming space can help deal with the constant auditory over stimulation around the house.

Acoustic treatment may take many forms including using simple soft furnishing, carpets, rugs and curtains however these can only go so far  in improving the acoustics of a room. In most acoustically bright rooms the biggest culprit is the ceiling, with high ceilings multiplying the issue several fold.

The use of purpose design acoustic materials such our Melaflex acoustic panels which are easily mounted onto ceilings and walls will significantly improve the absorption of reflected sound waves creating spaces in any room making the spaces much more pleasant for anyone with hyper sensitivity to sound.

Melaflex foam lends itself well to indoor use for a number of reasons namely;

• It is extremely light and can be added retrospectively using non destructive methods to any surface including listed buildings.
• Mounting of melaflex panels is easily accomplished with impalers or spray adhesive. This DIY acoustic solution drastically reduces the cost of acquiring and benefiting from acoustic treatment in your home.
• Melaflex foam is supplied in brilliant white or light grey meaning the panels will blend perfectly with most interior walls or ceilings diligently carrying out their work of improving the acoustics in the room they are installed in without interfering with the interior decor or aesthetics or your rooms.
• Unlike fibreglass panels, melaflex panels can be shaped into any 3 D shape, with profiles being cut to match existing features or to introduce interesting aesthetics to the room they are installed in.
• Melaflex foam is fibre free and doesn’t need any special precautions whilst handling it. Unlike fibreglass it doesn’t release fibres in the air which are known to cause irritations.
• Finally melaflex foam is a Class ‘0’  fire rated meeting the most stringent fire ratings out there lending themselves well to use in rooms like kitchens.

 

I hope this article gives you some practical guidance on how you can make your home a better living space for your loved ones. If you would like any help with any of our acoustic solutions please give us a call on 01442 899 294 and we will be only too happy to help.

Acoustic treatment FAQs

How much acoustic treatment will I need?

This depends on the size of the bare surfaces you have in your living space. Typically absorption of 30% will make a marked improvement in the acoustics of your living space with every additional bit of treatment improving further the acoustics.

Where should I place the acoustic treatment?

Because of the unique properties of melamine foam it can be punctured by curious hands we recommend installing the panels on the ceiling and above door height this will ensure the panels are out of reach of anyone curious enough to try and investigate the panels which could damage the panels.

Does the white foam get discoloured?

No Melamine foam will retain its bright white colour for years unlike polyurethane foam which starts to brown in days as it starts to oxidise when exposed to sunlight resulting in unsightly looking yellowish foam.

How should I clean the panels once installed

Melamine foam panels are simple to clean with a duster or lightly vacuumed over. Care should be taken not to brush hard against the panels as this can result in the structure getting damaged.

 We are pleased to say that all our commercial, education and public sector installations now come with a 30 day Try It For Yourself Guarantee! 

We will install our solution and give you 30 days to see if the improvement is really true to the hype. If you don’t like the results we will not charge you a single penny.

We have developed innovative acoustic treatment products which are easily installed in a fraction of the time traditional fibreglass panel products take and can be installed without drilling your wall surfaces. doing so allows us to install and uninstall our panels quickly without damaging your wall surfaces.

• Do  you have any classrooms or  learning spaces that have too much echo affecting the learning experience of sutdents especially students with special needs?
• Do you have multi use workspaces e.g. dinning halls that suffer from poor acoustics with excessive echoes and reverberation?
• Do you have meeting rooms that sound really acoustically bright and cause listener fatigue or projecting and unprofessional image
• Do your board rooms and meeting rooms project the right image to clients and do they sound executive?
• Are your reception areas too loud and bright sonically creating an impression of disorganisation and chaos?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then our three step process to get your acoustics sorted is a no brainer and yes did we mention it? You will not pay anything upfront and only pay should you decide to keep the products we offer you.

All our products are acoustically tested and conform to the highest fire rating required for UK commercial buildings

To get the process started click on the link below and book a virtual survey today and let us help you improve the acoustics in your room.

 

BOOK YOUR ACOUSTICAL SURVEY

Medway Green School – Multi Use Hall

Medway Green School contacted  us for help tackling the acoustic issues they were facing in their main school hall. Medway Green School is a special needs school for children and caters for students with a wide range of social, emotional and mental health needs, including autistic spectrum conditions, in an environment designed to ensure they always feel safe and supported.

The hall is a multi use space that is used for just about everything, from school dinners, PE, small group learning and assemblies. However the nature of internal composition of the building created a space that was acoustically very bright. The wooden floor and plasterboard walls and ceilings meant that the room would get extremely loud and noisy rendering the room practically unusable even for lunches.

“It really is so noisy that a lot of our students have resorted to using ear-defenders to deaden some of the sound, and staff wish they could use them too.”

 Facilities Manager

 The requirements  Medway Green School provided included;

• A competitively priced fire rated solution that met the required building standards
• An Acoustical solution that didn’t interfere with the use of the building for light sports and PE especially not keen on a suspended solution.
• An acoustical solution that was ideally not grey or black with preference for something that added colour to the space.

The requirements provided lent themselves well to our Melaflex foam panels which are not only high performing absorbers but are a cheaper option per square meter when compared to fibreglass alternatives.

Medway green school provided us images and measurements of their school . Armed with this, our technical team set about acoustically modelling the school hall, using EASE, an advanced acoustical modelling programme to determine the optimum configuration of melaflex panels that would meet the key requirements of the school, improving the acoustics whilst keeping costs to a minimum.

 Using the analysis we determined the number of our standard Melaflex flat panels that would deliver the improvement required in the hall reducing the reverberation time and improving speech intelligibility down to acceptable levels.

 The  proposed solution was forwarded on to Medway green school  who agreed to proceed with the solution.

Installing the solution

All our commercial, education and public solutions come with detailed placement instructions  to ensure customers make the most of the products we supply. Medway green school was supplied with placement diagrams detailing where each panel was to be fixed as well as the adhesive required to mount the panels. Instructions on handling the material were also supplied and delivery was arranged to ensure the panels could be safely received and stored.

Results

The results of the installation speak for themselves this is what the facilities manager had to say.

“The results have surpassed my expectations, the panels have worked fantastically well and have greatly improved the acoustics in the hall,  our students now enjoy using the space and one even commented that the hall doesn’t hurt his ears anymore”

Conclusion

We were pleased to be given the opportunity to help Medway green school with this project. Our extensive knowledge and expertise in tackling the most challenging acoustic problems proved invaluable in delivering a solution that  delivered the desired results whilst keeping costs to a minimum. We are pleased to see that the students can now enjoy this multi use space and make the most of their time at the school.

If you have any space or room that needs acoustic treatment why not contact us and we will only be too happy to help you on your journey today.

About Melaflex Evo Acoustic Panels

Melalfex Evo panels offer a great solution to the most challenging acoustical solutions because;

• They are extremely light and can be added retrospectively with non destructive methods to any surface including listed buildings.
• Mounting of melaflex panels is easily accomplished with impalers or as in the case of Medway green school using a purées designed heavy spray adhesive. This means that organisations and institutions looking to keep costs down can easily install the panels themselves reducing total acquisition costs by upto 50%.
• Melaflex foam is supplied in brilliant white or light grey meaning that for most educational institutions they will not appear intrusive, instead blending into the walls and ceiling, diligently carrying out their work of improving the acoustics in the room they are installed in.
• Unlike fibreglass panels, melaflex panels can be shaped into any 3 D shape with profiles being cut to match existing features or to introduce interesting aesthetics to the room they are installed in.
• Finally melaflex foam is a Class ‘0’ foam meeting the most stringent fire ratings out there lending themselves well to use in public sector, education and commercial spaces.