Award Date

5-15-2026

Degree Type

Doctoral Project

Degree Name

Occupational Therapy Doctorate

Department

Brain Health

First Committee Member

Sharon Jalene

Number of Pages

91

Abstract

Sensory processing challenges can affect a child’s ability to engage in play, especially when participating in community activities. When a child feels overwhelmed by sensory features in an environment, such as noise or bright lights in a community space, they may experience sensory overload. Caregivers often observe this behavior but may not have access to resources to help their child navigate these challenges. This capstone project aimed to implement a program development initiative at the Discovery Children’s Museum focused on developing sensory-inclusive resources for caregivers visiting the museum with a child. The role of occupational therapy in this project is to promote awareness of a sensory-inclusive museum environment that benefits all visitors and their families. The development of sensory-inclusive resources, such as a sensory map and an accessibility guide, is intended to improve caregivers’ access to support a child’s sensory needs while engaging in play during their experience at the museum. Feedback collected through a survey on the usefulness of the sensory map and accessibility guide, and on the child's engagement observed during the museum experience, is expected to reveal the effectiveness of the sensory-inclusive resources. Caregivers provided positive feedback on the usefulness of sensory-inclusive resources at the Discovery Children’s Museum and reported that children were engaged at the museum after using the sensory map. Therefore, the implementation of sensory-inclusive resources may be beneficial for caregivers to better understand how to enhance their children’s sensory needs to support engagement during play.

Keywords

children's museum; occupational therapy; sensory inclusive; sensory processing challenges

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences | Occupational Therapy | Rehabilitation and Therapy

File Format

PDF

File Size

3400 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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