Creating a Sensory-Friendly Pediatric Emergency Department.

Introduction: For children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and sensory-processing disorder (SPD), an unexpected visit to the emergency department can be an overwhelming experience that creates intensifying behaviors and an unsafe clinical interaction for the child, nurses, and providers. Although resources exist to help nurses work with this specialized group, there are limited examples of the challenges and opportunities of modifying an emergency department to be a place where nurses can provide sensory-informed care.

Methods: Guided by Watson's Theory of Caring, nurses and child life specialists in our pediatric emergency department initiated a practice improvement (PI) project to create a sensory-friendly emergency department.