Sensational Hiking: Collaborating with Community Organizations to Provide Sensory Information to Enhance the Trail Evaluation Process

Accessibility is about more than just physical access to places where people live, work, and play. It’s also about having access to sufficient information to make an informed decision. Community organization Access Recreation, is setting the precedent for providing information regarding nature and hiking trails so people of all abilities can enjoy outdoor recreation. An occupational therapy practitioner enhanced their efforts by educating them on sensory systems, and how deficits in this area may impact the hiking experience of a client with sensory processing disorder, or sensory sensitivities. Occupational therapy practitioners across the world can join similar efforts and utilize these resources with clients with a range of limitations. The therapeutic effects of nature are well known, and pairing physical exercise or therapy interventions with exposure to natural environments could be more beneficial than traditional therapies, or offer a new context to learn in