Sensory Garden as a Feasible Home-based Outdoor Play Intervention: A Pilot Study

Background Play is a primary occupation of all children.  Play spaces are important environments to enhance children’s skill development.  Sensory gardens address users’ senses and stimulate the sense of sight, touch, smell, taste, hearing, proprioception, and vestibular by using softscape and hardscape elements.  We aimed to develop and pilot test home based sensory gardens to promote active outdoor play and task performance.

Method Three children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (6-12 years) and their mothers, from one rehabilitation clinic, volunteered to participate.  This study summarises the findings based on the three-home based case study sensory gardens.  Total intervention duration was for 3 weeks and indoor time-on-task performance was collected at three different points.

Results Children demonstrated higher levels of indoor time-on-task performance following outdoor active and associative play in the sensory garden play space. 

Conclusion Home based sensory gardens as child-friendly play spaces were welcomed by families to promote outdoor active play and facilitate activity participation.  The preliminary evidence suggest inclusion of safe and a stimulating outdoor play environments at home can be a practical therapeutic supplemental intervention tool.