Parent and Therapist Perceptions of Sensory Based Strategies Used by Occupational Therapists in Family-Centered Early Intervention Practice

<p>A qualitative approach was used to explore the perceptions of parents and therapists in early intervention regarding sensory diets and their efficacy, particularly their goodness of fit within family routines and occupations. Open-ended interviews were conducted with therapist and parent participants and analysis of the data resulted in a model depicting how sensory diets became a "way of life" for families. The Sensory Diet "Way of Life" Model revealed seven themes that illustrated how occupational therapists in early intervention enter the homes of the families they serve and establish a "partnership" with parents to address a child's needs. Once this "partnership" is established, knowledge is transferred to parents who then transform their "vision" of their child and are empowered to generalize knowledge of sensory processing and sensory diets to ever enlarging environments. Ultimately, the sensory diet became a "way of life" for these families. Implications for the field of occupational therapy were given following the presentation of the model.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Health Related Sciences

Year dc:date.available

2006

Author dc:creator

• Copeland, Juliet Bertaut

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Dianne Simons

• family centered
• early intervention
• occupational therapy
• Medicine and Health Sciences
• Rehabilitation and Therapy

Statement dc:rights

• © The Author

Identifier

https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1090

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-2089