Sleep is an emerging area of research and practice for occupational therapists. The purpose of this study was to identify and investigate how college students’ cognitive perceptions and beliefs about sleep affect their quality of sleep. Four college students participated in qualitative interviews investigating their sleep beliefs and attitudes. The students also completed a two-week daily sleep diary to report their sleep beliefs, attitudes, and daily living patterns. Four emerging themes were identified from the interviews: beliefs about sleep patterns related to temporal structure of sleep, stress, daytime performance associated with sleep, and conflicting beliefs about sleep. Daily sleep diaries also revealed inconsistencies between idealized and actual sleep patterns. Based on the identified themes and sleep diary data, researchers concluded that college students do not have defined beliefs and attitudes about the value of sleep or consistent, routine sleep schedules. Occupational therapy interventions should strive to identify beliefs and attitudes about sleep in order to change non-adaptive beliefs and help clients develop routines to improve sleep quality and daytime performance.

In recent years, the number of inpatient cardiovascular surgeries has significantly increased in hospitals around America. Occupational therapists working in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Mills-Peninsula Medical Center (Burlingame, California) currently lack a standard protocol for addressing physical, cognitive, and psychosocial factors in patients following cardiac surgery. Furthermore, interventions are frequently guided by professional experience and clinical reasoning instead of current evidence. The American Occupational Therapy Association’s Centennial Vision encourages occupational therapists to pursue science-driven practices and provide patients with evidence-based interventions. In response to this vision, an extensive review of current literature was conducted and applied to develop an evidence-based clinical pathway for the occupational therapists at Mills-Peninsula Medical Center. The proposed clinical pathway includes intervention guidelines for physical recovery, early detection of cognitive impairment, and psychosocial health for patients recovering from cardiac surgery in the ICU. The proposed clinical pathway would establish a standard of care and facilitate patients’ return to their highest level of function during post cardiac surgery rehabilitation.

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 intervention services. In best practices, these services are delivered by an interdisciplinary team, often consisting of an occupational therapist, speech language pathologist, board certified behavior analyst, and special education teacher. 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 interview methods and qualitative analysis. Results informed a conceptual practice model for highly intentional collaboration. The concentric circle model depicts interdisciplinary team priorities by placing students at the center, followed by individualized and classroom level sensorimotor programming, and finally encompassed by intentional collaboration. Essential components of intentional collaboration are: taking action, reinforcing team values, communicating, understanding interdisciplinary roles, and addressing barriers.

As the number of individuals with ASD entering adulthood increases, this population faces limited resources to effectively foster independent living. Therefore, it is crucial to explore innovative interventions that help this population develop the skills necessary to live more independently. This exploratory prospective cohort study evaluated the effectiveness of projectbased therapy at Autistry Studios, which focuses on improving adaptive behavior skills for adults and adolescents with ASD. The study used the Brief Adaptive Behavior Scale (BABS), a novel quantitative assessment, to tracks the development of adaptive behaviors in individuals with ASD within the domains of executive functioning (EF), socialization (SOC), and self-regulation (SR). The BABS specifically measures frequency of behaviors (FRQ), the highest level of assistance (LoAHigh) required, and the lowest level of assistance (LoALow) required. Pairedsamples t-tests compared the mean BABS scores for 11 participants between nine sessions at Autistry Studios and found significant differences in LoAHigh and LoALow Total scores. Additional analyses found significant differences in the LoAHigh and LoALow scores in the domains of EF and SOC. Cohen’s d effect sizes for the difference between session one and nine for LoAHigh and LoALow scores were large to very large and suggesting practical significance in all domains. The results indicate that Autistry’s pre-vocational, project-based therapy program is effective in improving adaptive behavior skills in adults and adolescents with ASD, as measured by the BABS assessment.

This critically appraised topic explores the functional task performance of adults with low vision utilizing tactile vision substitution systems, specifically tongue display units (TDUs). TDUs are a novel assistive device that functions to provide artificial vision to those with low vision. TDUs pixelate images captured on a camera the person wears and the images are translated via electronic stimulation on the tongue to paint a picture. Two studies that measured functional task performance utilizing a TDU with adults with low vision were explored. Examples of functional tasks measured include word recognition, object recognition, and orientation and mobility tasks. The studies concluded that with skilled training, the TDU may significantly improve functional task performance in tasks previously impossible for the participants,.. Use…. Use of technology such as a TDU can improve functional task performance to enhance overall quality of life for adults with low vision of light perception or less. The results indicate the need for skilled training by professionals such as occupational therapists to best utilize a TDU.

Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is the most common form of inherited Intellectual Developmental Disorder and a genetic model for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Those living with FXS face, emotional, social, intellectual, and physical challenges that impact engagement in occupations, yet to date, there has been limited qualitative research examining family occupations in FXS. In this research, twelve interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed for common themes anchored in the Person, Environment, Occupation (PEO) model. Results indicated that while children with FXS exhibit strengths, there are certain occupations that families find difficult to engage in. A new model was created for consideration of family occupations and FXS. This model depicts family occupations as a complex and ever changing, dynamic interaction between the child and family engaging in varying environments, and activities. This model can further inform clinical reasoning when designing a comprehensive child and family-centered approach supporting participation in occupations.

Depending on the severity of cognitive impairments, individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI) may experience challenges in their everyday functional performance. Tabletop and occupationbased cognitive assessments are used to evaluate individuals with ABI. There is a need for occupation-based cognitive assessments because they possess ecological validity, which is the ability to reflect an individual’s functional performance in daily life. This study aimed to validate the Medication Box Task assessment (MBTa) as an occupation-based cognitive assessment. Pearson correlations were utilized to compare the results of the MBTa against the results of the battery of five gold standard tabletop assessments. Statistical analysis revealed significant correlations between type II errors of the Tower of London and the extra and missing pills of the MBTa. No other significant correlations between scores of the MBTa and the assessment battery were found. Based on the results, the study did not confirm the construct validity of the MBTa as a cognitive occupation-based assessment. However, a finding indicated that seven out of eight participants made errors on the MBTa and out of those seven; six said they managed their own medication revealing possible safety concerns.