A Home-Based Program To Support Parents/Caregivers Of Children With Complex Developmental Needs In Their Home Environment

Early intervention (EI) services play a significant role to support children with developmental disabilities and delays reach important milestones as they grow and develop. A child that qualifies for early intervention services is often seen by a provider once a week, which makes it necessary to provide parents/caregivers with home activities and educational material that will both enhance their knowledge and confidence, as well as promote continual learning opportunities for their child in the home environment. Occupational therapists (OTs) working in the EI setting evaluate a child’s performance completing occupations and provide interventions that promote development and skill building in the child’s most natural environment (Clark & Kingsley, 2020). While OTs and other early intervention providers possess the appropriate knowledge and skills to address the developmental needs of each child, the provider’s expertise and skill set are further strengthened through consistent parent/caregiver involvement (Gmmash, Effgen, Skubik-Peplaski, & Lane, 2021). It is therefore within OT’s scope of practice to provide parents/caregivers with home activities and educational resources so that they are equipped to support their child’s therapeutic goals outside of the formal early intervention setting. An evidence-based therapy manual was created that includes both therapeutic resources and educational material for EI providers to utilize with the families they work with to promote parent/caregiver involvement in the home environment. An extensive literature review, the development of a theory driven literature matrix and clinical observations were completed to inform the development of this manual. As OTs and other early intervention providers utilize the resources provided in this manual, it’s anticipated that the self-efficacy of parents/caregivers will be enhanced, their adherence to home activities will increase and the rapport between early intervention providers and parents/caregivers will be strengthened

The Use of Sensory Integration to Mitigate the Traumatic Environment of the NICU: A Critically Appraised Topic (CAT)

In 2018, one in 10 infants were born premature in the United States, which is classified as being born prior to 37 weeks gestation (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2019). This includes an average of 7,303 babies each week (March of Dimes, 2020). The final months and weeks in utero are shown to be critical to typical development (CDC, 2019). The organs associated with the sensory system begin to develop within utero around eight weeks and the development of the senses continues well into childhood and adolescence (Mayo Clinic, 2020). Hearing and vision are the last two sensory systems to develop, thus are particularly immature in the preterm infant (Blackburn, 1998). As a result, those born premature are more likely to develop sensory processing disorder (SPD), vision and hearing problems, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety or developmental disability (CDC, 2019; March of Dimes, 2020). In one prospective longitudinal study of preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), it was found that half of preterm infants born less than 30 weeks developed SPD by ages four to six years old (Ryckman, Hilton, Rogers & Pineda, 2017)