Outdoor Play in Pediatric Therapy: How Can We Create
Meaningful Spaces for Children?

Presented by Nicole Quint and Thomas Morgenthaler

12-Month Subscription

Unlimited access to:

Thousands of CE Courses
Patient Education
Home Exercise Program
And more

Subscribe Now

First Chapter Free Buy Course

Pediatric Pioneers: Outdoor Play in Pediatric Therapy: How Can We Create Meaningful Spaces for Children? (Episode 9)

Audio Runtime: 57 Minutes; Learning Assessment Time: 21 Minutes

Thomas Morgenthaler, PhD, MSc OT, BSc OT, joins host Nicole Quint for a compelling conversation on outdoor play as a vital childhood occupation. Drawing on his international clinical experience and groundbreaking PhD research on play for the sake of play, Thomas brings a fresh lens to how we think about—and design and evaluate—the environment of play spaces. Together, we explore the disconnect between how play is valued and how it's often used in practice, inviting you to reflect on your own assumptions and opportunities for advocacy. Join us and come away with practical, evidence-based strategies to help every child access meaningful, inclusive outdoor play.

Learning Objectives

Analyze the evidence around outdoor play occupations and their environmental determinants
Apply evidence-based strategies to evaluate and improve play space usability and play value
Analyze your own assumptions about what makes a “good” playground or outdoor space for children

This is an audio-only course. Additional materials are available for download within the course. To receive continuing education credit, complete the course and the accompanying quiz.

Meet your instructors

A smiling woman with glasses and turquoise earrings poses in front of colorful artwork, representing medbridge's vibrant culture.

Nicole Quint

Nicole Quint is a professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Health Care Sciences at Nova Southeastern University. She serves as the program director for the postprofessional DrOT program and the dual-degree DrOT/PhD program. With over 20 years of pediatric experience, Dr. Quint specializes in pediatric…

Read full bio

A young man with short light brown hair, round glasses, and a dark jacket smiles at the camera against a light gray background, representing medbridge.

Thomas Morgenthaler

Thomas Morgenthaler is an occupational therapist from Austria with eight years of clinical work experience. He has recently defended his doctoral work, which was based on outdoor play occupation on play spaces, at University College Cork, Ireland, and Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, Scotland. In his doctoral work, he…

Read full bio

Chapters & learning objectives

1. Outdoor Play in Pediatric Therapy: How Can We Create Meaningful Spaces for Children?

Drawing on his international clinical experience and groundbreaking PhD research on play for the sake of play, Thomas brings a fresh lens to how we think about—and design and evaluate—the environment of play spaces.