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.
","abstract_html":"<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>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Copeland, Juliet Bertaut"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Health Related Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Dianne Simons"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2006,"date_issued":"2006-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2006-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:54:53Z","subjects":["family centered","early intervention","occupational therapy","Medicine and Health Sciences","Rehabilitation and Therapy"],"languages":[],"rights":["© The Author"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1090"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1090","href":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1090","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.25772/TW3B-J379","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Dianne Simons"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Copeland, Juliet Bertaut"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-07-09T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Health Related Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["family centered","early intervention","occupational therapy","Medicine and Health Sciences","Rehabilitation and Therapy"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© The Author"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://doi.org/10.25772/TW3B-J379","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1090"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["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.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Parent and Therapist Perceptions of Sensory Based Strategies Used by Occupational Therapists in Family-Centered Early Intervention Practice"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Dianne Simons"],"dc:creator":["Copeland, Juliet Bertaut"],"dc:date.available":["2014-07-09T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["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.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://doi.org/10.25772/TW3B-J379","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1090"],"dc:rights":["© The Author"],"dc:subject":["family centered","early intervention","occupational therapy","Medicine and Health Sciences","Rehabilitation and Therapy"],"dc:title":["Parent and Therapist Perceptions of Sensory Based Strategies Used by Occupational Therapists in Family-Centered Early Intervention Practice"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Health Related Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:54:53Z"}