This study explored perspectives of therapist's role in care coordination between early intervention (EI) and medical services, and identified strategies for improving service delivery. Fifty adults participated in one of six focus groups. Participants included parents, pediatricians, and therapists working in hospital and EI programs. Structured guiding questions were used to obtain participants' perceptions. Transcript analysis included open code identification, axial code grouping, and constant comparative methods. The researchers established inter-rater reliability (kappa = 0.85) in the coding scheme before data analysis. The themes identified included information exchange, communication among parents and therapists, approaches toward child and family care, supporting social and emotional needs, perceptions of therapists' roles, and understanding service delivery systems to improve care coordination. Participants recommended training for therapy service providers and pediatricians in the areas of child development, team building, and service systems. Family-centered strategies emphasizing systems of care are recommended to improve therapists' role in care coordination.
The profession of Occupational Therapy advocates for new and emerging areas of practice that more fully embrace our moral responsibility to address significant social injustices that exist in our communities (Kronenberg, Algado, & Pollard, 2005). The service-learning pedagogy is impacted by the philosophical and theoretical influences of John Dewey, the mission and purpose of American higher education including Boyer's (1994) call for an engaged citizenry, and the social vision of occupational therapy. The pedagogy of service learning provides a natural context for students to experience community practice while contributing to reducing existing social injustices. This paper provides an overview of service learning (SL) as a philosophical and pedagogical approach in occupational therapy education, key processes in developing successful service learning experiences and community partnerships to support service learning. Characteristics of effective service learning, assessment of community and institutional outcomes of service learning and the scholarship of service learning are also discussed. Most importantly, strategies for developing service learning scholarship, an important but frequently neglected requisite to validate any educational practice, are delineated. The authors conclude that service learning provides educators with an opportunity to provide students with experiences in natural, community contexts while developing life-long commitment to civic engagement and social responsibility.
Introduction: A comprehensive review to identify key topics and to discern patterns in the perspectives of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can improve understanding of the knowledge flow among stakeholders, thereby guiding future educational strategies. This systematic review and metasynthesis characterized the experiences of parents who have a child with ASD using qualitative studies in the literature. Method: A predefined search strategy across five databases was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. A metaaggregative approach was used to synthesize extracted data into themes that were condensed into overarching categories. Results: Ten themes and nine groups of key stakeholders were identified across 12 studies. Themes were grouped into four categories: behaviors, socioemotional impacts, structural needs, and gaps in knowledge about ASD. Gaps in knowledge about ASD was a pervasive theme that played a critical role in interactions between stakeholders. Families of children with ASD make life adaptations in a variety of areas, including structuring activities around ASD, physical modifications to homes for safety, intentional social isolation, increased financial expenses, and homeschooling. Discussion: Parents must educate themselves on how to manage all aspects of ASD, and in doing so, often become experts not only in the individual needs of their own child and families, but in ASD more broadly. Family experiences contextualize key stakeholder knowledge for application across multiple systems, including education and health care services, home, and the community. Educational interventions that integrate family, service provider, and community perspectives are needed to address the stakeholder gap in knowledge.
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