Accommodations and Therapeutic Techniques Used during the Administration of the Child Occupational Self Assessment

Abstract

Introduction: Paediatric occupational therapists can elicit children's perspectives and provide children with the opportunity to participate in decision making by administering self-reports. This study sought to identify the techniques that practitioners used to foster the effective and appropriate administration of one occupational therapy self-report, the Child Occupational Self Assessment (COSA). Method: Focus groups were held in the United States and the United Kingdom to explore therapists' experiences using the COSA. Thirty-three clinicians, including 28 occupational therapists, participated across five focus groups. Descriptive codes were generated using line-by-line coding, and codes were refined and reorganised using a constant comparative approach and triangulation with multiple coders. Findings: Therapists used two main techniques while administering the COSA: providing accommodations and interacting with clients in a therapeutic manner. Occupational therapists provided accommodations by adapting or adjusting the administration of the COSA to meet the individual needs of clients better. Therapists enacted a therapeutic use of self by developing rapport and empowering children during the administration process. Conclusion: This study illustrates that therapists use multiple therapeutic techniques aligned with the literature during the process of administering the COSA self-report. Further, those therapeutic techniques are enhanced by the simultaneous use of accommodations that ensure children are able to access and complete self-reports.