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The impact of the classroom environment on defining function in school-based practice
Summary
Occupational therapists designing interventions for students considered classroom environmental demands. Their plans aligned with essential tasks identified by special education teachers, indicating responsiveness to student needs.
Area of Science:
- Occupational therapy
- Special education
- Pediatric intervention
Background:
- Therapist intervention planning can vary based on focus within task hierarchies.
- The Model of Student Role Adaptation emphasizes complex student role tasks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if occupational therapists' intervention plans reflect environmental demands.
- To examine if therapists consider classroom tasks essential for student functioning.
Main Methods:
- Special education teachers identified essential classroom tasks for student functioning.
- Occupational therapists' intervention goals and objectives were compared to these identified tasks.
Main Results:
- A significant relationship was found between teacher-identified environmental demands and occupational therapy intervention planning.
- Chi-square analysis confirmed the alignment between environmental demands and intervention goals.
Conclusions:
- Occupational therapists' intervention plans appear to be responsive to the environmental demands of the classroom.
- Findings suggest therapists consider essential student role tasks when developing interventions.