Burke Doctoral Capstone Course- Sensory Room

My Doctoral Capstone was completed with Central Rivers AEA in Mason City, IA. There was a desire from several schools requesting assistance with creating a sensory room. The AEA did not have the time to dedicate to this detailed project and asked if I was willing to take on the project. During my capstone experience, I also was in contact with three occupational therapists from the AEA who assisted me in current materials and let me tour completed sensory rooms in other schools. I was responsible for researching the literature and creating two sensory rooms in each elementary school, while collaborating with school administration. I was in charge of creating policies, procedures, creating/building materials, set-up of the space, and staff education.  This capstone experience contributes to the realm of occupational therapy in several different aspects. First, it creates a safe and accessible environment for students with sensory needs. The AEA now has access to reproducible materials and staff education to replicate the sensory room at other schools in the area. Another piece of my capstone experience included collaborating with the special education preschool teacher and her classroom to create and administer weekly activities. These activities focused on fine motor and sensory play for the students. Each small group consisted of 5 students with autism spectrum disorder.