Dynamic Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment for Children: Perceived utility in Australian occupational therapy practice

Abstract

Background and Aim:The Dynamic Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment for Children (DOTCA-Ch), recently developed in Israel, assesses the cognitive areas: orientation, spatial perception, praxis, visuomotor construction and thinking operations of 6-to 12-year-old children. The dynamic aspect, which incorporates mediation and prompting, has been presented as a valuable clinical feature of this new assessment. This study investigated the cultural suitability, dynamic nature and comprehensiveness of the DOTCA-Ch as a single cognitive assessment for occupational therapy practice in Australia. Methods: Twenty-three paediatric occupational therapists participated in three tutorial and video demonstrations, which were then followed by a group interview. Results and Conclusion: Thematic analysis of transcripts identified four main themes: appropriateness of assessment tasks, language, mediation and clinical utility. Within each theme, the participants raised both positive and negative features. This paper highlights occupational therapists' mixed views on the clinical utility of this assessment in Australia. Limitations of this study and areas for further research are suggested.

Parents' and therapists' perceptions of the content of the Manual Ability Classification System, MACS

“…The use of semi-structured interviews was found to be a sufficient method for the purpose of this study. This is in agreement with findings from other studies where interview has been used for investigation of the clarity and relevance of test items in new instruments (19,21,22) and for testing existing instruments (28)(29)(30)(31). A limitation in data collection was that the leaflet was read before the interview, which may have influenced the respondent's choice of words.…”

Advancements in measurement and methodology in Occupational Therapy: The contribution of Professor Sylvia Rodger

“…Rodger assisted in the validation of the Dynamic Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment for Children (DOTCA‐Ch) (Ziviani et al ., ), originally developed in Israel. She evaluated the suitability, inter‐rater reliability and test‐retest reliability of the DOTCA‐Ch and investigated the cultural suitability, dynamic nature and comprehensiveness of the DOTCA‐Ch as a single cognitive assessment for occupational therapy practice in Australia (Rodger, Daley, Hughes & Ziviani, ). This work highlighted the importance of conducting cross‐cultural validation and the importance of therapists' perception of the appropriateness of an assessment in relation to the usability of an assessment.…”