While Good Nature Therapy Services values time spent in nature, we recognize that the most inclusive approach to therapy may incorporate time spent in our indoor therapy area. With access to an indoor clinic space with traditional therapy tools and an outdoor therapy garden, we’re equipped to meet a broad range of child needs. Every child - every human - fundamentally needs time in nature for growth and happiness. Our therapy team is skilled at recognizing a child’s unique needs and structuring a therapeutic plan that introduces that child to outdoor opportunities in a way that supports those needs.
Some children have limited opportunities to safe, meaningful experiences in nature. This could be for a variety of reasons that decrease accessibility. Some examples include:
Children with feeding tubes, ostomy bags, or other medical equipment that enters the body through a stoma who cannot get their stoma dirty
Children who use mobility devices that can’t navigate over uneven terrain
Children with Pica who eat non-food items
Children with a tendency to wander (or elope) from caregivers
Children sensory sensitivities (difficulty detecting temperature, challenges with exposure to messes)
And more!
To ensure that children who may have limited access to outdoor experiences can still reap the benefits of time in nature, our therapists may use a blended (indoor-outdoor) approach to therapy. They may use one of the following approaches:
Bringing outdoor experiences inside (e.g. nature-themed sensory bin)
Intermittent time spent inside versus outside (e.g. spending 5 minutes inside, 5 minutes outside, etc.)
Therapist-supported, structured outdoor opportunities (e.g. a controlled gardening task where only hands are exposed to outdoor elements)
Access to visual supports and other compensatory tools that allow for safe outdoor participation
Remaining on the paved path or under the covered patio to decrease exposure to the natural elements
Our unique, indoor-outdoor therapy space also allows our therapists to fully embrace a child-led and play-based approach to therapy. On days when there is inclement weather, our therapists can be found inside using our traditional therapy tools. Similarly, there may be other reasons that a therapy session occurs inside, perhaps a child forgot their boots and they use self-advocacy skills to request to stay indoors! The wonderful thing about a child-led and play-based approach to therapy is that our skilled therapists can support your child while they work toward valued goals while simply being a kid. All of the skills that a therapist may address can be targeted indoors or outdoors.
If you are interested in the child-led and play-based approach to therapy that we use at Good Nature Therapy Services, we invite you to explore how our services may benefit your child. We would love to work alongside your family, growing your child’s skills one nature-filled adventure at a time. Get in touch for more information or to start services with us for speech-language pathology or occupational therapy.
