IMPROVING INCLUSION: IMPLEMENTING NOVEL PRACTICES IN COMMUNITY AQUATIC PROGRAMS WITH NEURODIVERSE AND NEUROTYPICAL CHILDREN Minnie Teng BSc. MScOT, Kathy Xie BSc. Julie Engleson, Kanachi Angadi, Anita Wong, Michael Lee MBA, PDOT, Tal Jarus MA(OT), PhD (OT) University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy Aquafit for All Association INTRODUCTION Community programs often place neurodiverse children into one-on-one settings, separated from neurotypical peers. However, studies in education have repeatedly shown that integration, where neurodiverse children are placed in the same environment as neurotypical peers, improves their inclusion and life trajectory. ANALYSIS Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and statistical analysis for survey responses. Qualitative analysis was an iterative process, occurring after each focus group or interview, to allow researchers to identify with emerging ideas and knowledge gaps. Preliminary themes were discussed with the team to establish consistency. Quantitative analysis was performed using Qualtrics. BACKGROUND OBJECTIVE The purpose of this project is to investigate how community aquatic programs can be optimized to improve inclusion by implementing and evaluating a novel inclusive community aquatic program model. METHODOLOGY Implementation: 1.providing trained staff who can offer one-on-one support when needed. 2.set goals with parents and the child (e.g. we will reduce one-on-one time by 50% by the end of the 3-month season). Evaluation: Using surveys and interviews/focus groups, we are evaluating the impact of the novel inclusive practices on parents' perceptions of their child's sense of belonging. Parents of participating neurodiverse children responded to questions related to 1. sense of inclusion in the blended approach versus segregated approach, 2. social aspects, and 3. meeting their child's needs. RESULTS/FINDINGS Preliminary results show that: parents generally feel that inclusion is improved when there is flexibility for one-on-one teaching when necessary. "I believe cognitively it is hard for [my child] to follow instructor instructions along with other kids unless [the support staff] helps her". Another parent mentioned that with the introduction of a support staff in a regular aquatic program, they "saw improvement". Parents also generally believed that their children are more likely to make friends in the regular classroom than if they were in a segregated, one-on-one only program which is the norm offered by the city for neurodiverse children. IMPLICATIONS The implementation of novel community program design may prompt other community programs to rethink how community programs can be designed and offered to improve sense of belonging in neurodiverse children. Additionally, this project would benefit from a quantitative measure of inclusion in a community context and have a higher sample size. Numerous studies have explored inclusion in workplace settings, however, for recreational settings, inclusion measures are undervalued and lacking research. Graph. This graph shows how parents rated their agreeableness with each statement regarding their child's inclusion.