Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Julie Grabanski

Abstract

Integration into community settings with limited ability to control one’s exposure to sensory stimuli is often challenging for children with sensory processing difficulties (Isamel et al., 2018). To self-regulate, children often exhibit behaviors that appear to others as abnormal or inappropriate to the expectations within the social environment but are out of the child’s control (Brown et al., 2019). Individuals who do not know about sensory processing may respond to the behavior in a way that is unsupportive to the child’s sensory needs and overall daily functioning. To advocate for children in natural community contexts, Success with Sensory provides individuals who work with children in schools, daycares, and other settings, with sensory-based education and strategies to help children meet their sensory needs and engage in daily activities with minimal difficulty. Success With Sensory was designed for children ages six weeks to twelve years old, which are typical ages in which a child typically attends daycare and/or school. Success With Sensory is a resource guide developed for staff who work with children in community settings. It is a tool that provides education about sensory systems, sensory processing and its correlations with behavior, and strategies to utilize in each setting. Success With Sensory was designed using the following procedures: review of literature and determination of need, presentation of collaboration potential with stakeholders, initiation of collaboration with community agencies through interviews and meetings, and ongoing observation in clinic and community settings for analysis of current knowledge and specific needs of staff and children. The resource guide was designed during each of these steps and was later presented to staff in prioritized settings during and following in-service vii training. Additional community settings, such as hair salons, dental offices, and others, received sensory-based handouts through brief, informal meetings. Success With Sensory was intended to increase teacher and caregiver awareness about sensory processing and how it relates to behavior and task performance to support children in their natural environments. This resource guide was developed through the collection of needs through a review of literature, subjective reports from parents and staff, and observations in each community setting for generalizability. The resource guide is intended to be referred to by staff frequently and the strategies given are recommendations for daily use.

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