Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Toying With Adapted Toys, Joshua King

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

My project is a design for an adapted toy that occupational therapists (OT) can use when working with kids. OTs are people who help others to be able to do daily tasks that they need to do to live their lives. This can look like helping a person who has been injured or has a disability to accomplish tasks like getting dressed or feeding themselves. It can also involve helping school children to improve their writing or to use assistive technology. My project started out as an idea from my mom who is an OT and was using a coffee …

Homeschool Educators’ Perspectives About Student Needs Within Occupational Therapy Scope Of Practice: A Pilot Study, Susan L. Iliff, Mary T. Hill, Rose White, Aubrey Alexander

Pediatrics Research and Scholarship

Homeschool educators (n = 31) were recruited to complete an electronic survey describing their perspectives. Findings indicated that many students had medical/academic needs, and accessed additional services such as occupational therapy (OT). Data analysis of open-ended questions revealed common categories: (a) curricula met or did not meet student needs (b) participants had experience-based, general or no knowledge of OT and (c) most felt homeschooling was a positive experience and expressed that limited resources were available. Further research is warranted to investigate available resources, specific needs, and how to best support students who homeschool.

Increasing Accessibility Of A Children's Summer Camp, Jenna Curtiss

Occupational Therapy: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

The Americans with Disabilities Act was initially passed in 1990 with an aim of creating accessible public spaces for all individuals with disabilities and impairments. Since that time, research on accessibility for children with physical impairments has largely been focused on access to homes and schools. It is clear that a lack of accessibility impacts children with physical impairments in other environments by reducing social participation and interaction with peers. There is minimal research on accessibility of children’s extracurricular spaces, such as summer camps, despite studies showing the importance of children with physical impairments participating in social extracurricular activities. This …

Playgrounds Should Be A Place For All Children, Emily Pellicano

Occupational Therapy: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Play is one of the most important occupations of children, both because it supports development of children’s skills and because it provides meaningful experiences for play participants. Playgrounds provide a valuable community setting where children can play together, but the opportunity for children with disabilities to equally experience the benefits of playground play depends largely on a playground’s degree of accessibility, usability, and inclusivity. While there is research on the differences in play among children with different abilities and evidence-based guidance on how to make playground play more accessible, usable, and inclusive for children of all abilities, the extent to …

Long-Term Outcomes In Children With Acute Flaccid Myelitis, Megan D. Henley, Lindie Hill, Sydney Inman, Molly Grace King, Sam Lopez, Carley Mahaffey

Master of Occupational Therapy Student Critically Appraised Topics

The purpose of our critically appraised topic is to combine the best evidence regarding the long-term outcomes in children with acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) regarding posture and movement, gross and fine motor control, and activities of daily living (ADL) performance. The final portfolio contains eight articles. The study designs of these articles include a retrospective cohort study, two retrospective non-randomized studies without a control group, a retrospective review, a nationwide follow-up questionnaire analysis study, a case report, a case series, and a multiple quantitative case study. All studies related directly to our evidence-based PICO question and were used to determine …

Effectiveness Of Auditory Interventions On Children's Attention, Engagement, Self-Regulation, And Auditory Discrimination, Victoria Brager, Claira Geller, Jessica Kresl, Emily Waham

School of Occupational Therapy Master's Capstone Projects (2016-2021)

Sensory-based interventions are commonly used in occupational therapy practice to support children and youth with disabilities that may impact occupational performance. Auditory interventions are a specific sensory intervention centered around the use of sounds thought to create neural changes in the brain resulting in improved functional performance (Wink, McKeown, & Casey, 2017). Four occupational therapy research students collaborated with a local pediatric occupational therapist who was interested in obtaining updated evidence on auditory interventions with children. Researchers screened and systematically reviewed the literature to address the question, "Do auditory interventions improve self-regulation, engagement, auditory discrimination, and/or attention for children?" Upon …

Trauma-Informed Care In A School Setting: Occupational Therapy Interventions To Promote Emotional Regulation, Sarah Blaise, Ots, Sara Cohen, Ots, Maria Marcum, Ots

Collaborative Research and Evidence shared Among Therapists and Educators (CREATE Day)

PICO Question

• What trauma-informed occupational therapy interventions improve emotional regulation and participation in school-based tasks for students?

Objectives

• Define trauma and note its prevalence among school-aged children
• Describe principles of Trauma-Informed Care and its importance in a school setting.
• Describe current research to determine best practice using a Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) approach in schools for OT practitioners

Effects Of Adaptive Dance On Children: Dance Teachers’ Perspectives, Isobelle Hughes

Occupational Therapy: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Dance is an art, sport, and passion able to be enjoyed and benefited by all ages. The benefits include increased motor, cognitive, emotional, and social skills, and more (Demers, Thomas, Wittich, McKinley, 2015). This study gathered initial research regarding the effects of dance on children with disabilities as well as children of typical development and the aging population. The researcher conducted interviewed teachers of adaptive dance programs regarding their perspectives on the benefits, challenges, goals, and the impact of an occupational therapy career on teaching, as applicable. Teachers were interviewed via video or phone call and audio transcriptions were used …

Occupational Therapy’S Role In Early Language Development Of Babies And Young Children, Aimee E. Ketchum, Otd, Otr/L, Marie-Christine Potvin, Phd, Otr/L

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

Occupational therapy practitioners in their interactions with babies, young children and their families, can be change-agents who promote rich language environments as a foundation to social interactions, social participation and academic successes. OTPs may be the sole provider working with a family or may reinforce with families the plan of care developed by speech-language pathologists (SLP) or early intervention teachers. The first step for OTPs is deeper knowledge of the importance of early language exposure, social interaction and participation development in young children and approaches that promotes rich language environments.

Cognitive Orientation To (Daily) Occupational Performance (Co-Op) Approach And Children With Disabilities, E. Amidon, K. Matteo, K. O'Toole, C. Pistilli, A. Slomowitz, Marie-Christine Potvin

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

There is a growing body of research evidence for the CO-OP approach since first published in 2001. Individual studies such as single case designs have found positive outcomes using this approach, however, no prior systematic reviews exist. Therefore, this review aims to compile and evaluate the efficacy of the CO-OP approach in children with disabilities.

Parent And Child Perspectives: Applying Moho To Assess Inclusion Outcomes In Unified Sports, Lauren Helmig, Hannah Beatty

Occupational Therapy: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

For all children, being a participant in a recreational sports program is important for the well-being and quality of life. Children with disabilities may not always have the same opportunities to engage in sports programs. Unified Sports®, a branch of Special Olympics®, is an inclusive team sports program that aims to break down stereotypes about children with disabilities; however, it lacks documented outcomes. Previous research failed to explore outcomes of co-curricular non-education-based inclusion programs from the perspectives of the two main stakeholders: children with disabilities and their parents. These perspectives are key to analyzing success of current inclusion programs and …

Using A Multifaceted Approach To Working With Children Who Have Differences In Sensory Processing And Integration, Stacey Reynolds, Tara J. Glennon, Karla Ausderau, Roxanna M. Bendixen, Heather Miller-Kuhaneck, Beth Pfeiffer, Renee Watling, Kimberly Wilkinson, Stefanie C. Bodison

Occupational Therapy Faculty Publications

Pediatric occupational therapy practitioners frequently provide interventions for children with differences in sensory processing and integration. Confusion exists regarding how best to intervene with these children and about how to describe and document methods. Some practitioners hold the misconception that Ayres Sensory Integration intervention is the only approach that can and should be used with this population. The issue is that occupational therapy practitioners must treat the whole client in varied environments; to do so effectively, multiple approaches to intervention often are required. This article presents a framework for conceptualizing interventions for children with differences in sensory processing and integration …

Anxiety In Children: Intervention Strategies, Nina Handojo, Christine Hsu-Nazzal, Nadia Kabbani

School of Occupational Therapy Master's Capstone Projects (2016-2021)

Three occupational therapy graduate students at the University of Puget Sound partnered with a practicing pediatric occupational therapist to investigate effective interventions for anxiety in children in the literature. A Critically-Appraised-Topic (CAT) was performed on the research question: Which interventions geared towards school-aged children between 5 and 18 with anxiety and related disorders are effective in reducing symptoms and increasing participation in school and meaningful occupations as compared to no intervention?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) was found to have the strongest research base and the strongest positive outcomes. Gains were maintained following CBT even 10-26 weeks post-treatment. Other promising interventions …

Development Of The Classroom Sensory Environment Assessment (C-Sea), Heather Miller-Kuhaneck, Jacqueline P. Kelleher

Occupational Therapy Faculty Publications

The Classroom Sensory Environment Assessment (C-SEA) allows teachers to examine the sensory aspects of classroom tasks and environments. The purpose is to assist in determining ways to modify tasks and environments to improve engagement and reduce problem behaviors in elementary school students with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Developing Bilateral And Spatial Concepts In Primary School-Aged Children: An Empirical Evaluation Of The Anker Bilateral Spatial System, Janet Richmond Dr, M Taylor Dr, S Evans

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background: Visual-spatial and visual-motor perceptual difficulties contribute to school-aged learning problems. Hence, a need exists to address children’s visual-spatial and visual-motor perceptual difficulties as early as possible in the child’s school career. Thus, this study reports on the evaluation of the Anker Bilateral Spatial System’s (ABSS) effectiveness in remediating primary school children’s perceptual difficulties.

Method: Thirty-one children (17 boys and 14 girls) aged 6 to 12 years who had been identified by their classroom teacher as having observable visual-spatial and visual-motor perceptual difficulties participated in a 10-week pre/posttest intervention study. The study’s pre/posttest assessments included the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor …

Correlating The Developmental Test Of Visual Perception -2 (Dtvp And The Test Of Visual Perceptual Skills - Revised (Tvps-R) As Assesssment Tools For Learners With Learning Difficulties, Janet Richmond, K Holland

Research outputs 2011

Learners are often referred to occupational therapists to assess their visual perceptual functioning. It is, therefore, imperative that the occupational therapists use the best assessment tools to obtain accurate and reliable results that lead to effective intervention which will be noticeable in the classroom functioning of these learners. A study was therefore conducted which correlated the results of the Developmental Test of Visual Perception (second edition) (DTVP-2) and the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills Revised (TVPS-R) in a cohort of 173 learners from Grade 1 to Grade 4 (children aged 6 years to 11 years). The learners attend a remedial …

The Relationship Among Sensory Preferences, Play Preferences, Motivation, And Mastery In Guiding Children's Play: A Review Of The Literature, Part 2, Elissa Miller, Heather Miller-Kuhaneck

Occupational Therapy Faculty Publications

Currently, the emphasis throughout health care is on providing evidence-based practice. Occupational therapy practitioners are involved in critical examination of the profession's assumptions and beliefs and are conducting research that supports its theoretical underpinnings. In many areas of practice, practitioners have created bodies of literature to support interventions; and in other areas, we rely on literature from fields outside of the profession. Pediatric occupational therapy is no exception. Although exciting research is currently under way, existing research from outside the profession supports many of our methods and beliefs. A review of the literature found evidence from both inside and outside …

Hypothesis For Prediction Of Stimulant Drug Effectiveness Utilizing Sensory Integrative Diagnostic Methods, Judith Giencke Kimball

Occupational Therapy Faculty Publications

Despite extensive research, there has been no way to predict before drug administration which children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) will respond to medication intended to calm them. A drug trial is the current method used. This paper discusses the action of stimulant medications and presents a hypothesis as to why they work on some children and not others. Sensory integration theory, particularly on vestibular system measures, that involves differential diagnosis of certain types of ADHD children, is used to explain why some children respond to stimulant medications.

Prediction Of Methylphenidate (Ritalin) Responsiveness Through Sensory Integrative Testing, Judith Giencke Kimball

Occupational Therapy Faculty Publications

Seventeen children previously judged to be good or poor responders to methylphenidate (Ritalin) were tested on sensory integrative measures while in the off-drug state. The tester was unaware of the children's drug response category. Results showed that children who were poor responders to Ritalin showed prolonged scores on and an adverse reaction to the Southern California Postrotary Nystagmus Test and had poorer equilibrium reactions and lower double tactile stimuli scores than the children judged good responders to Ritalin. These findings suggest that it might be possible to identify good and poor responders to Ritalin before the medication is given, something …