Sensory Garden as a Feasible Home-based Outdoor Play Intervention: A Pilot Study
References
- Chawla L, Derr V. The development of conservation behaviors in childhood and youth. In Oxford Handbook of Environmental and Conservation Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press; 2012. p. 527-55.
- Lee RL, Lane S, Brown G, Leung C, Kwok SW, Chan SW. Systematic review of the impact of unstructured play interventions to improve young children’s physical, social, and emotional wellbeing. Nurs Health Sci. 2020;22(2):184-96. https://doi.org/10.1111/nhs.12732
- Milteer RM, Ginsburg KR, Mulligan DA. Council on Communications and Media; Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health. The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bond: focus on children in poverty. Ped. 2012;129(1): e204-13. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-2953
- Barton EE. Teaching generalized pretend play and related behaviors to young children with disabilities. Except Child. 2015;81(4):489-506. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402914563694
- Kasari C, Chang YC, Patterson S. Pretending to play or playing to pretend: the case of autism. Am J Play. 2013;6(1):124-35.
- Dadvand P, Nieuwenhuijsen MJ, Esnaola M, Forns J, Basagaña X, Alvarez-Pedrerol M, et al. Green spaces and cognitive development in primary schoolchildren. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2015;112(26):7937-42. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1503402112
- Dadvand P, Tischer C, Estarlich M, Llop S, Dalmau-Bueno A, López-Vicente M, et al. Lifelong residential exposure to green space and attention: a population-based prospective study. Environ Health Perspect. 2017;125(9):
097016 . https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP694 - Hinshaw SP, Ellison K. ADHD: what everyone needs to know. New York: Oxford University Press; 2016.
- Amoly E, Dadvand P, Forns J, López-Vicente M, Basagaña X, Julvez J, et al. Green and blue spaces and behavioral development in Barcelona schoolchildren: the BREATHE project. Environ Health Perspect. 2014;122(12):1351-8. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408215
- Balseviciene B, Sinkariova L, Grazuleviciene R, Andrusaityte S, Uzdanaviciute I, Dedele A, et al. Impact of residential greenness on preschool children’s emotional and behavioral problems. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2014;11(7):6757-7. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110706757
- Voola SI, Kumari MV. Sensory garden: piloting an affordable nature-based intervention for functional behavior of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Curr Pediatr Res. 2022;26(5):1381-5.
- Stephenson A. Opening up the outdoors: exploring the relationship between the indoor and outdoor environments of a centre. Eur Early Child Educ Res J. 2002;10(1):29-38. https://doi.org/10.1080/13502930285208821
- Coull JT. Neural correlates of attention and arousal: insights from electrophysiology, functional neuroimaging and psychopharmacology. Prog Neurobiol. 1998;55(4):343-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0301-0082(98)00011-2
- Kaplan S, Berman MG. Directed attention as a common resource for executive functioning and self-regulation. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2010;5(1):43-57. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691609356784
- Wilens TE. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and substance use disorders. Am J Psych. 2006;163(12):2059-63. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.2006.163.12.2059
- Başaran A, Karadavut KI, Üneri SO, Balbaloğlu O, Atasoy N. Adherence to home exercise program among caregivers of children with cerebral palsy. Turk J Phys Med Rehabil. 2014; 60:85-91. https://doi.org/10.5152/tftrd.2014.60973
- Kleim JA, Jones TA. Principles of experiencedependent neural plasticity: implications for rehabilitation after brain damage. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2008;51:S225. https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2008/018)
- Bronfenbrenner U. Ecological models of human development. In: International Encyclopedia of Education. Vol 3. 2nd Ed. Oxford: Elsevier. 1994;3.
- Hernandez RO. Effects of therapeutic gardens in special care units for people with dementia: two case studies. J Hous Elderly. 2007;21:117-52. https://doi.org/10.1300/J081v21n01_07
- Hussein H. The influence of sensory gardens on the behavior of children with special educational needs. Asian J of Env Behav Stud. 2011;2(4):78-93. https://doi.org/10.21834/aje-bs.v2i4.214
- Hussein H. The influence of sensory gardens on the behaviour of children with special educational needs. Procedia Soc Behav Sci. 2012;38:343-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.03.356
- Gülgün B, Öztürk İ, Yazici K. Sensory gardens: design criteria and case studies. Proceedings from the International Symposium for Environmental Science and Engineering Research (ISESER) At: Manisa, Turkey; 2020 [cited 2024 June 14]. Available from: https://iseser.com/
- Cosco NG, Moore RC, Islam MZ. Behavior mapping: a method for linking preschool physical activity and outdoor design. Med. Sci. Sport. Exerc. 2010;42(3):513-9. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e3181cea27a
- Luchs A, Fikus M. Differently designed playgrounds and preschooler’s physical activity play. Early Child Dev Care. 2018;188:281-95. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2016.1213726
- Kracht CL, Sisson SB. Sibling influence on children’s objectively measured physical activity: a meta-analysis and systematic review. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2018;4(1):
e000405 . https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000405 - Ulrich RS, Simons RF, Losito BD, Fiorito E, Miles MA, Zelson M. Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments. J Environ Psychol. 1991;11:201-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-4944(05)80184-7
- Kaplan S. The restorative benefits of nature: toward an integrative framework. J Environ Psychol. 1995;15:169-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/0272-4944(95)90001-2
- Berto R. The role of nature in coping with psycho-physiological stress: a literature review on restorativeness. Behav. Sci. 2014;4(4):394-409. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs4040394
- Prins J, van der Wilt F, van der Veen C, Hovinga D. Nature play in early childhood education: a systematic review and meta ethnography of qualitative research. Front Psychol. 2022;13:
995164 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.995164
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15566/cjgh.v12i3.586 | Journal eISSN: 2167-2415
Language: English
Page range: 109 - 116
Submitted on: Aug 17, 2025
Accepted on: Aug 30, 2025
Published on: Nov 4, 2025
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Keywords:
© 2025 Silpa Voola, Kalpana Kosalram, Prince Kalyanasundaram, published by Global Health Institute at William Carey International University
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.