Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT)

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Roberta Carrlson

Second Advisor

Julie Grabanski

Keywords

Interdisciplinary Communication; Occupational Therapy -- methods; School Health Services

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to create a toolkit for occupational therapists who work within the elementary school settings to promote collaboration with teachers and other school personnel. In recent years there has been an increase in children who qualify for occupational therapy services within the school, which creates a need for collaboration with occupational therapists and teachers. Kennedy and Stewart (2011) found that while occupational therapists and teachers desire a collaborative relationship, there is little evidence supporting a way to achieve effective collaboration between the professions.

An extensive literature review was conducted in order to acquire information to create evidence-based strategies for occupational therapists to use in collaboration with teachers. The authors utilized research articles, textbooks, and resources available from the American Occupational Therapy Association and other reliable databases. The Ecology of Human Performance model (EHP) was the guiding model in the development of this toolkit, creating opportunities of intervention into various contexts within the elementary school setting.

Our toolkit, Promoting Interdisciplinary Collaboration Across Contexts: A Toolkit for Occupational Therapists, was organized by context with suggestions to occupational therapists for intervention strategies to use in collaboration with teachers. The toolkit begins with operational definitions followed by strategies for collaboration, educational materials for occupational therapists and teachers, EHP model application, possible assessments to use in the school and finally case studies to provide an example of how to use the toolkit.

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