Date of Award

2022

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Julie Grabanski

Abstract

Purpose: Children’s primary occupations are centered around engagement in their education through interaction with their learning environment and academic pursuits. In the school season months, children in Minnesota are spending roughly 935 hours at school annually (MARSS, 2020). The student’s environment in school provides a number of sensory experiences that can either support or inhibit a student’s ability to succeed in school. Many research studies have shown that children who have sensory needs that go unmet can display disruptive behaviors and will typically withdraw from engagement in their education (Dean et al., 2017). The purpose of creating the Sensory Friendly Classroom is to ensure that sensory needs of all students are met to ensure that they are reaching their full potential in their educational pursuits.

Methods: In order to create the Sensory Friendly Classroom, an in-depth literature review was completed to ensure that all relevant information pertaining to children’s environments in school, the role of occupational therapy in school, and sensory needs of children was gathered prior to development of the project. Main findings supported the idea that creating a more inclusive sensory experience in the general education classroom not only aligned with the language written into the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, but also would provide higher engagement and success for all students [(Bar-Shalita et al., 2008) (Kinnealey et al., 2012)]. The project was guided by the Ecology of Human Performance (EHP)which describes the interaction between the person, their context, and the tasks they need and/or wish to engage in (Dunn, 2017).

Conclusion: Overall the Sensory Friendly Classroom was developed in collaboration with a midwestern elementary school classroom to ensure that all students have the opportunity to reach their full potential in the educational setting. Through allowing children to have their sensory needs met in each context of their education that they engage in on a daily basis, children are better prepared to reach their full individual and academic potential.

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