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The Decline of Outdoor Play - And the Rise in Sensory Issues

Presented by: 

Angela Hanscom, MOTR/L

Angela Hanscom, MOTR/L

Attend live on January 22, 2025 or watch on demand the next day

Course Description

As we continue to decrease children’s time and space to move and play outdoors, we are seeing a simultaneous rise in the number of children that are presenting with sensory and motor deficits. At the same time, classroom teachers are observing more and more children having trouble with attention, falling out of their seats in school, increased clumsiness, and even aggressiveness with games like tag on the playground.


So, how can we reverse this alarming trend of sensory and motor issues in children? How can we ensure that children are fully engaging their body, mind, and all of their senses?


Using the same philosophy that lies at the heart of her popular TimberNook program—that nature is the ultimate sensory experience, and that psychological and physical health improves for children when they spend time outside on a regular basis—Angela Hanscom offers several strategies to help children thrive in outdoor environments using a therapeutic approach to nature play.

Learning Objectives

1. Learners will identify at least three changes in child development due to decreased outdoor play.

2. Learners will identify the underlying reasons why children increasingly present with sensory, motor, and social issues, as well as a decline in creativity and imaginative play abilities.

3. Learners will identify at least three strategies to promote healthy sensory and motor development, creativity, and independence through outdoor play in various environmental settings.

Contact Hours

This course is 1.5 hour in length. (0.15 AOTA CEUs)

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National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy

As an AOTA-Approved provider of professional development, OTSchoolhouse.com courses are accepted by NBCOT® at a rate of 1.25 NBCOT PDUs per each hour of course content.
 

NBCOT® is a registered trademark of The National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc.

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Register for this course and future courses inside the OT Schoolhouse Collaborative for as little as $120

Agenda

0-5 minutes

Introduction


5-15 minutes

Understanding the history of TimberNook


15-30 minutes

Impact of Reduced Outdoor Play


30-45 minutes

Therapeutic Benefits of Outdoor Play


45-60 minutes

Importance of Outdoor Play


60-75 minutes

Strategies for High-Quality Play Opportunities


75-85 minutes

Additional Strategies


85-90 minutes

Questions and Answers


Your Instructor

Angela Hanscom, MOTR/L

Angela Hanscom, MOTR/L

Angela J. Hanscom, MOTR/L is a pediatric occupational therapist and founder of TimberNook—an award-winning developmental and nature-based program that has gained international popularity. She is the author of Balanced and Barefoot: How Unrestricted Outdoor Play Makes for Strong, Confident, and Capable Children. Hanscom is also a frequent contributor to The Washington Post and in 2019 won the Small Business of the Year Award for the State of New Hampshire.

Registration

To access this course and others, become a member of the OT Schoolhouse Collaborative

OTS Collab is an online community dedicated to providing school-based OT practitioners with highly valuable professional development and interactive support to implement learned strategies. In OTS Collab, we learn together, support and encourage one another,  and celebrate our achievements as a collective whole.  

Click here to learn more about the OT Schoolhouse Collaborative and register in our dedicated community of school-based OT practitioners.

Instructional Methods

A combination of speaker presentation with a slide deck and both synchronous & asynchronous Q+A with the presenter.

Target Audience
& Educational Level

This is an introductory level course intended for occupational therapy practitioners working in school systems or with a goal to better understand occupational therapy in school systems.

Course Completion Requirements

To receive a certificate for this course, you must watch the recorded course in its entirety. Then, you will need to take a learning assessment test and earn a score 75% or higher. If you pass, a certificate will be automatically generated and sent to your email.

Special Needs Requests

This course will include closed captioning and a transcript may be available upon request. You may also rewatch the course or sections of the course as needed. Additional accommodations may be requested by reaching out to us via email. 

Financial & Non-financial Disclosures

Speaker Disclosure

Angela earn an income via being an author, presenter, and through TimberNook programming

Sponsor Disclosure

The OTS Collaborative Community is a product of the OT Schoolhouse.

Content Disclosure

This learning event does not focus exclusively on any specific product or service.

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Schoolhouse Education, LLC is proud to be an AOTA Approved Provider of Professional Development

AOTA-Approval for this Professional Development Opportunity is in progress.  

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Terms and Conditions

 

Schoolhouse Education, LLC will keep a record of your completed CE courses. When applicable, transcript services may include reporting to professional associations and/or state licensure boards. While Schoolhouse Education, LLC will make all reasonable efforts to offer CE credit for its courses, it is not responsible for state or national, or regulatory current policies or changes in CE requirements that may make courses ineligible for CE credits.

Participant Agreement

By registering for or attending any event or activity associated with the Schoolhouse Education, LLC and OT Schoolhouse, I agree to the following:

Professional Development/Information Disclaimer

The material presented in this course is not intended to represent the only or the best methods appropriate for the occupational therapy and/or medical condition or professional development issues being discussed but rather is intended to present the opinions of the presenters, which may be helpful to other health care professionals at arriving at their own conclusions and consequent application. Attendees participating in this professional development education program do so with full knowledge that they waive any claim they may have against the A-Z School-Based OT Course, Schoolhouse Education, LLC, and OT School House and its staff or representatives for reliance on any information presented during these educational activities.

Waiver of Liability Agreement

I release Schoolhouse Education, LLC, OT Schoolhouse, and its staff, presenters, and any other individuals or entities associated with this course from any and all liability connected with my participation, as well as from any liability related to changes to the schedule, events or activities. I acknowledge and agree that I am participating on my own choice and assume all risk in connection thereof and that in the event that a need for emergency medical service arises, I authorize and consent to such services being provided at my own expense.

Cancelation & Refund Policy

In the event that Schoolhouse Education, LLC must cancel the event for any reason, participants will be offered a credit toward the rescheduled event. OT Schoolhouse Collaborative subscribers may cancel their subscription at any time. 

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