Strategies For Campers With Sensory Challenges

The OTS partnered with a summer camp agency to understand their needs for camp programming. The executive director informed the OTS that this camp would benefit from programming recommendations as they would like to be more inclusive toward campers of all abilities. Pfeiffer, Clark, and Arbesman (2018) explain that sensory challenges can exist in children/adolescents with or without an existing diagnosis. Children and adolescents who have difficulty regulating and responding to sensory input impedes their ability to participate in meaningful occupations. The OTS decided to provide the agency with programming recommendations to serve campers with sensory challenges in order to achieve the camp’s goal of increasing inclusivity. Having strategies in place for campers with sensory challenges will help to improve occupational engagement and improve one’s overall camp experience. The OTS utilized the person-environment-occupation model (PEO) (Law et al., 1996) and Dunn’s Model of Sensory Processing (1997) to provide this agency sensory based strategies for campers. The results of this DEP included the dissemination of a staff education packet intended to educate camp staff on the importance of considering camper’s sensory needs. This product contained sensory-based strategies that could be implemented in the camp environment as well as weekly programming recommendations. Having strategies in place to help campers cope with sensory challenges allows for successful participation in meaningful occupations in the variety of environments offered at this summer camp