Graduation Date
5-2017
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Occupational Therapy
Department or Program
Occupational Therapy
Department or Program Chair
Ruth Ramsey, EdD, OTR/L
First Reader
Laura Greiss Hess, PhD, OTR/L
Second Reader
Joann Figone, MS, OTR/L
Abstract
In the past decade, the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Intellectual Disabilities (ID) has increased. Sensory processing is an area of need for individuals with ASD and ID that requires specialized interventions. In best practices, an interdisciplinary team consisting of an occupational therapist, speech language pathologist, board certified behavior analyst, and special education teacher, delivers these services. There has been limited research examining interdisciplinary collaboration between professionals on the team. The purpose of this study was to empirically examine the interdisciplinary team practices at a special education center. This research employed qualitative methods. Results informed a conceptual practice model for highly intentional collaboration. The model depicts sensory needs of individual students and sensorimotor programming for the classroom as a priority for the interdisciplinary team. Final themes from the analysis essential to collaboration were: taking action, communicating, addressing barriers, reinforcing team values and understanding interdisciplinary roles.