The Study of Life

Coming from a degree in natural science, I love the outdoors. Any class that had a field component taking us outdoors, was my favorite class. I got to learn about the world around us and it has always been an interest. This is why I chose the podcast with Amy Seymore talking about her nature based therapy, and knowing that Amy uses this for pediatric OT is also exciting. Nature-based therapy creates a setting for children to embrace their childhood and for the therapist to unlock the magic of the outdoors.
What I like about Amy's approach is how she uses different natural settings to influence how she creates and implements interventions for her clients. She talks about different diagnoses that would benefit from this type of OT. Children with ADD or children who suffer from sensory processing disorder were mentioned as well as kids with handwriting issues. I love how creative this form of therapy is and how it is largely driven by what the child wants. She talks about how she allows them to drive the session with creative play, and she is able to manipulate the play to fit an intervention or activity that she has planned. I also like how she spoke about challenges she has faced with parents being unsure of time outside. I like that in a way she shows the parents of these children how to let their child to learn from the outdoors.