Date of Award

2022

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Breann Lamborn

Abstract

Early intervention (EI) services play a significant role to support children with developmental disabilities and delays reach important milestones as they grow and develop. A child that qualifies for early intervention services is often seen by a provider once a week, which makes it necessary to provide parents/caregivers with home activities and educational material that will both enhance their knowledge and confidence, as well as promote continual learning opportunities for their child in the home environment. Occupational therapists (OTs) working in the EI setting evaluate a child’s performance completing occupations and provide interventions that promote development and skill building in the child’s most natural environment (Clark & Kingsley, 2020). While OTs and other early intervention providers possess the appropriate knowledge and skills to address the developmental needs of each child, the provider’s expertise and skill set are further strengthened through consistent parent/caregiver involvement (Gmmash, Effgen, Skubik-Peplaski, & Lane, 2021). It is therefore within OT’s scope of practice to provide parents/caregivers with home activities and educational resources so that they are equipped to support their child’s therapeutic goals outside of the formal early intervention setting. An evidence-based therapy manual was created that includes both therapeutic resources and educational material for EI providers to utilize with the families they work with to promote parent/caregiver involvement in the home environment. An extensive literature review, the development of a theory driven literature matrix and clinical observations were completed to inform the development of this manual. As OTs and other early intervention providers utilize the resources provided in this manual, it’s anticipated that the self-efficacy of parents/caregivers will be enhanced, their adherence to home activities will increase and the rapport between early intervention providers and parents/caregivers will be strengthened.

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