Abstract
Sensory exploration is important for children of all abilities to experience, especially for children with sensory processing disorder (SPD) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (Mclelland & Cameron, 2019; Thompson & Raisor, 2013; Viola & Noddings, 2006). However, fewer children are being exposed to sensory exploration experiences during early childhood and before they enter kindergarten (Noddings, 2017a; Roessingh & Bence, 2018; Viola & Noddings, 2006). The purpose of this project was to create a curriculum for sensory exploration and play for infants, toddlers and preschoolers based on the results from the online needs assessment survey of parents in the community. Findings from the survey demonstrated that the parents thought that every proposed sensory area was important to focus on and more community-based sensory exploration opportunities which included children with and without disabilities needed to be available. A review of existing literature on sensory processing challenges of children with SPD and ASD and of resources and programs for sensory integration, exploration and play also informed the development of the curriculum. The curriculum for a community-based sensory exploration and play program contains an introduction and six sections of activities, each focused on one of the following sensory areas: visual, auditory, tactile, proprioceptive, vestibular and olfactory. Recommendations for future pilot testing and implementation of the curriculum as well as for future research are presented.