As the population and longevity of older adults’ increases, the prevalence of falls is becoming an ever-growing issue. Falls in older adults may lead to sedentary behavior, decreased independence, and lower quality of life. Evidence has shown that traditional exercise programs emphasizing strength and balance can decrease fall risk in older adults, but may be difficult to sustain over time. Emerging evidence suggests that exercises that are integrated into daily life, as seen in the Lifestyle-integrated Functional Exercise (LiFE) program, may have a more lasting effect in reducing fall risk in older adults. This study explored the effectiveness of a 26-week modified-LiFE program in decreasing fall risk in community-dwelling older adults. Purposive sampling of men and women 65 years and older, with or without a history of falls, living at two retirement communities yielded 16 participants. Participants were assessed three times using a battery of six fall risk assessments. Results demonstrated a significant reduction in fall risk, and increase in strength and balance. Additionally, results showed a trend toward sustainability of exercise. Therefore, integrating exercises into daily life may offer occupational therapists an effective occupation-based intervention that promotes safety, independence, and quality of life for older adults.

Access to current, evidence-based health information for older adults (OAs) is an important step to the promotion of health and wellness for all age groups, including OAs. Since the Internet is easily accessible and is being used more frequently by OAs, an effective way to convey relevant up-to-date health is through a website devoted to the dissemination of health promotion information tailored for OAs, including tips for integrating healthy habits into their lifestyle. Dominican University of California’s (DUC) Healthy Aging website contains relevant and evidence-based research, including activities and local community based programs that promote healthy aging on the DUC campus. The objective of this project was to further enhance the DUC Healthy Aging website by introducing new information and resources regarding health promotion strategies to keep OAs emotionally and physically well. New topics included “Living Safely Inside and Outside of Home,” “Local Events,” “Emotional Wellness,” “Tips for use of technology,” “Apps You Can Use,” and “ Position, Movement, & Ergonomics.”

Therapeutic Listening® is an intervention increasingly used by occupational therapists despite the lack of supporting evidence in current literature. Therapeutic Listening® is a soundbased treatment developed by Sheila Frick, OTR/L, rooted in sensory integration. The purpose of this continuation study was to compare the quality of bilateral movement in typically developing children after either listening to Therapeutic Listening® Bilateral Coordination Quick Shift or listening to white noise. This study used a randomized control pretest-posttest experimental design to analyze posture, smooth and continuous movement, effort, precision, and arm/leg movements. Specific items were further analyzed after eliminating those with a strong ceiling effect and focusing on items that approached significance in the previous study. Results showed the Quickshift series to have a moderate effect on qualitative movements during bilateral tasks by improving smoothness and rhythmicity. Overall, when compared to the white noise group the intervention group showed a greater improvement in bilateral coordination. Limitations of this study include a low statistical power, and a high ceiling effect. However, despite these limitations the Quickshift series shows promise as an intervention to improve bilateral coordination as this study, together with the standardized tests from the previous study show a trending effect of Therapeutic Listening® on bilateral coordination.

Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is the most common form of inherited intellectual and developmental disability, and a known genetic cause of autism. Individuals with FXS present with deficits in cognition, social skills, behavior, language and sensory processing skills; all of which are commonly assessed through standardized and norm-referenced assessments. However, these outcome measures are sometimes not sensitive to contextually based changes in daily life. Further, there is limited research employing qualitative methods in the FXS literature. The purpose of this research was to examine family perspectives collected via semi-structured interviews as part of a randomized controlled medication trial of sertraline (Zoloft®) on children two to six years old diagnosed with FXS. The constant comparison method was used to analyze differences in family expressions of their child’s improvements over the course of the 6-month clinical trial. Twelve interviews were analyzed, six-treatment, six-placebo, and all coding was done blind to group assignment. Results indicated greater improvements in the treatment group when compared to the placebo group in: anxiety, receptive / expressive communication, maladaptive behaviors and some sensory issues. These preliminary findings are encouraging warrant a need for further research with a larger sample.

Falls are a significant concern for community-dwelling older adults (OAs), with one in four OAs reporting a fall every year. Occupational therapy students collaborated with first responders of the Novato Fire District to identify gaps in fall prevention community outreach programs and found that many interventions lack an interactive or individualized approach. Based on the gap analysis and current literature, seven education modules were developed to address key risk factors including home safety hazards, polypharmacy, fear of falling, and strength and balance exercises . Thirty community-dwelling OAs participated in the education modules that were implemented at two senior community sites in Marin County. Participants were screened via Functional Reach Test (FRT) and completed a survey to determine their personal risk factors for falling, which guided their personalized fall prevention education. Of the participants, 90% rated their experience with the education modules as “very good” or “excellent,” and a majority indicated greatest satisfaction with the balance exercises. The interactive 1:1 education modules are an effective and innovative method for fall prevention education and highlight the importance of client-centered treatment.

Few empirical studies provide evidence for the effectiveness of Therapeutic Listening - Quickshifts (TL-Q). However, anecdotally, therapists and clients report TL-Q produces consistent positive results as an intervention for children with learning and developmental problems. In this study, the researchers examined the effectiveness of TL-Q intervention for five children with sensory processing difficulties to improve participation and function in (1) self-regulation and arousal, (2) activities of daily living (ADLs), (3) social/emotional skills, and (4) sensorimotor skills. Over the course of an 8-week prospective study, the researchers conducted a pre-test, post-test, prospective case study. During the intervention period, occupational therapist with TL-Q expertise chose the specific musical track depending on the needs of each child. Outcome measures included: Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, Sensory Processing Measure, Clinical Observations of Motor Performance, Beery-Buktenica Test of Visual Motor Integration and parent journals. Results showed an overall positive increase in quantitative scores and through qualitative reports. Most notably, in the areas of social interaction and sensorimotor skills. This study provided evidence for the support of TL-Q in the clinical setting and developed an effective protocol for future research.