OTD Capstone Projects

Abstract

This doctoral capstone project was created to serve the children, families, and volunteers at The Center of Courageous Kids in Scottsville, KY. The Center for Courageous Kids (CCK) is an accessible medical camp that provides children with serious illnesses the opportunity to attend camp at no cost. This allows the campers to have fun, create community and escape their everyday challenges. The camp hosts weekend retreats for families throughout the school year and offers population-specific week-long independent camps during the summer. Due to the structure of the camp, it relies heavily on volunteers to operate. With that in mind, this project was designed to address the camp’s needs, focusing on safety, high turnover, and consistency. To ensure the projects effectiveness, it was divided into three essential components: developing a universally designed pre-recorded dance program, implementing a general camper satisfaction survey, and creating volunteer education sheets.

The universally designed dance program was made with the intention of fostering an inclusive, high-energy environment where every camper can dance to the beat of their own drum. The program being prerecorded and digitally accessible allows incoming volunteers to lead it with little to no preparation, ensuring easy accessibility to anyone with a computer and allowing for future program growth. Each dance is recorded in two physical variations. One version is standing while the other version uses a wheelchair. Each video also includes time cues, rest breaks, and a multimodal reminder encouraging participants to listen to their bodies, stay hydrated, and have fun. The videos feature visual, verbal, and highly contrasted closed captioning instructions, designed to support those who are hard of hearing, visually impaired, or have different processing preferences. The choreography included in each video was specifically designed to promote universal accessibility while staying age-inclusive for the diverse group of campers CCK serves.

The general camp satisfaction survey is intended to aide CCK in future program development by identifying necessary activity modifications and ensuring that all campers accessibility needs continue to be met. The survey asks participants to identify their role at camp, followed by a list of five questions. The survey asks participants to share their favorite part of their trip, as well as any challenges they witnessed or faced, in addition to suggestions for future improvements.

The volunteer learning sheets are intended to quickly educate and prepare incoming volunteers by providing crucial population-based information and helpful strategies in a clear and concise format. These sheets aim to help maintain a safe, informed, and supportive environment for campers and their families.

Publication Date

Spring 4-18-2025

Faculty Mentor

Dr. Meegan Lambert

Department

Occupational Therapy, School of

College

Health Sciences & Nursing, Gordon E. Inman College of

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree

Doctorate of Occupational Therapy (OTD)

Degree Level

Doctoral

Degree Grantor

Belmont University

Keywords

Medical Camp, Video, Adaptive Dance, Inclusive Dance, Universal Design, Pediatric, Occupational Therapy, Satisfaction Survey, Volunteer, Volunteer Education

Download

Share

COinS