Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Capstone

Degree Name

Doctor of Occupational Therapy

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Rachel Diamant, PhD, OTR/L, BCP

Abstract

Children with developmental delays or cognitive impairments are more at risk for trauma, attachment, and adverse childhood experiences. The purpose of this pilot study of the telehealth program entitled “Playing Together” is to analyze whether an occupational therapy telehealth parent-training play program is an effective way to deliver services and potentially mitigate the effects of for trauma, attachment, and adverse childhood experiences. Quantitative data was gathered via the standardized assessments of the Short Child Occupational Profile and the Canadian Occupational Profile Measure and qualitative data was gathered using parent interviews, researcher journals, and session observation notes. Participants completed five one- hour long occupational therapy sessions via telehealth during participation in the program. All participants made clinically significant progress in targeted behaviors according to the SCOPE assessment. Four out of five participants made clinically significant progress in their skill goals according to the COPM assessment. Themes found during this project include: the importance of parent preparedness in telehealth sessions; adapting parent education to the parent’s style of learning; and modifying activities to ensure client-centered practice. Outcomes of the Playing Together program found that occupational therapy services delivered over a telehealth platform can be effective and reach a population that is challenged to participate in in-person sessions. If telehealth services continued to be covered by insurance following the public health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, services could be accessible to at-risk communities such as low-income or rural communities.

Additional Files
Capstone_Presentation.pdf (1984 kB)
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