A. Mandich

A pilot trial of a cognitive treatment for children with developmental coordination disorder

This pilot study compared a new treatment approach, the Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) to the Contemporary Treatment Approach (CTA) to treating children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). CO-OP emphasises problem-solving strategies and guided discovery of child and task specific strategies. CTA encompasses a variety of approaches, such as neuromuscular, multi-sensory, and biomechanical, focusing on motor aspects of skill acquisition. Twenty children with a mean age of 9.05 years (S.D. = 1.23) participated in the study. All children had normal intelligence, scored below the 15th percentile on a standardised test of motor ability, and demonstrated motor difficulties significant enough to warrant referral for treatment. Pre- and post-measures included the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS), the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP), the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration-Revised (VMI), the motor items of the Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC), and the Performance Quality Rating Scale (PQRS). In both groups, treatment goals were child-chosen. Both treatments lead to improved COPM self-ratings of performance and satisfaction; however, improvements in the CO-OP group were greater than those in the CTA group. These results were paralleled by PQRS scores, and the Motor scores on the VABS, but not on the BOTMP measures. This outcome still needs replication as no control group was involved and because of the occurrence of pre-treatment differences between the CO-OP and CTA groups on relevant measures. Follow-up data indicated that children who received CO-OP tended to experience greater long-term maintenance of their motor goals and acquired strategies; follow-up parent-report rated CO-OP treatment as more useful than CTA treatment. Self-report, observer report, standardised assessment, and follow-up all demonstrated the effectiveness of the CO-OP approach, supporting the use of CO-OP and suggesting further investigation of this new cognitive intervention.

Advancing rehabilitation research: An interactionist perspective to guide question and design

The purpose of this position statement is to propose an interactionist framework to bring together the existing literature and provide a unifying direction for rehabilitation research. The framework comprises three components: the conceptual model, the research question, and the research design. The interactionist conceptual model has been adapted from the World Health Organization International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health. The model forms the starting point that guides the specification of the research question, which, in turn, guides the selection of research design. This approach demands that the question takes precedence and that there be an extensive repertoire of research designs, each of which is valued for its ‘goodness-of-fit’ with the question, rather than an a priori, single hierarchical ordering of designs. Research designs must be appropriate for questions that examine the disability experience, development over the lifespan, multifaceted interventions, low incidence conditions, and development of new interventions. Analytical challenges include dealing with confounding, mediating, and moderating variables. Rehabilitation researchers – and those who fund their work – should consider and value the use of diverse research methods to best answer the questions posed from the interactionist perspective.

Concept Mapping A Dynamic, Individualized and Qualitative Method for Eliciting Meaning

The purpose of this theoretical article is to explore the use of concept mapping as a qualitative research method that is represented as a form of multimodal communication. This framework strives to move mapping beyond quantitative analysis by inserting art and humanness into the process. This proposed framework provides a means to highlight the ways in which people learn, understand, and interpret the world around them. Three categories for understanding have been identified by the authors to help individuals create, interpret, and understand qualitative concept maps. These categories include the following: Voice: Tri-directional Voice and Mutual Absorption; Detail in the Parts & Recognition of the Whole: Uniqueness, Aesthetic Distance and Emplacement; and Sensory Experience: Intellectual + Emotional Investment and Humanness. Each of these categories is interconnected, and informs each other in a dialectical way, therefore creating a piece of visual data with which the participant, researcher and audience can interact.

Going for Gold: Understanding Occupational Engagement in Elite‐Level Wheelchair Basketball Athletes

Abstract This article explores the meaning given to participating in elite‐level wheelchair basketball by athletes with lower extremity physical disabilities. Using qualitative methods this study explored the personal experiences and meanings ascribed to this occupation by ten men and six women from two National Teams. Expressed throughout the interviews were the numerous personal and financial sacrifices, the challenge and determination to better themselves, the importance of team mates, and the Program of Wheelchair Basketball. An esprit de corps was fostered through close team bonds and unconditional acceptance while striving to achieve the common goals of winning and attaining recognition of wheelchair basketball as an elite sport and themselves as athletes. Three major themes arose; 1) “The Love of the Game”, with sub‐themes, Going for the Gold, Overcoming Disability, and Commitment & Challenge, 2) “Esprit de Corps”, with sub‐themes, Team as a Second Family and Fun & Friendship, and 3) “Raising the Bar”, with sub‐themes, Recognition of the Sport and Recognition as an Athlete. It was apparent that these athletes loved the game and were challenged to go for the gold medal. Understanding the experiences of these individuals provides evidence of the importance of sport as a form of occupational engagement in the lives of individuals who experience disability.

Directions for advancing the study of work transitions in the 21st century

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this article is to share the details, outcomes and deliverables from an international workshop on work transitions in London, Ontario, Canada. PARTICIPANTS Researchers, graduate students, and community group members met to identity ways to advance the knowledge base of strategies to enhance work participation for those in the most disadvantaged groups within society. METHODS A participatory approach was used in this workshop with presentations by researchers and graduate students. This approach included dialogue and discussion with community members. In addition, small group dialogue and debate, world cafe discussions, written summaries of group discussion and reflection boards were used to bring new ideas to the discussion and to build upon what we know. FINDINGS Two research imperatives and six research recommendations were identified to advance global dialogue on work transitions and to advance the knowledge base. Occupational justice can be used to support future research directions in the study of work transitions. CONCLUSIONS Moving forward requires a commitment of community of researchers, clinicians and stakeholders to address work disparities and implement solutions to promote participation in work.