School of Occupational Therapy
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11274/8848
Browse
Browsing School of Occupational Therapy by Author "Amerih, Husny"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
- Results Per Page
- Sort Options
Item Applying the standards of education of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists to selected occupational therapy educational programs in the United States(2007-05) Amerih, HusnyIn higher education, accreditation has been used to maintain the quality of education at universities and their schools by setting standards of education. Both the World Federation of Occupational Therapists and the Accreditation Council of Occupational Therapy Education set standards of occupational therapy (OT) education so that educational programs can graduate practitioners with the needed “tools” for effective practice in OT. To explore the issue of differences and commonalities between the ACOTE and the WFOT standards of education, and how they may affect graduating therapists, three studies were conducted. The first study consisted of a literature review related to: higher education in the United States, occupational therapy standards of education in the US, the World Federation of Occupational Therapists’ standards of education, the cross-countries challenges and adaptation of foreign healthcare workers. The Second Study applied the WFOT Revised Standards of occupational therapy education to a selected sample of OT schools in the US, to investigate to what extent do OT schools in the US meet the WFOT Standards? And to what extent do OT curricula in the US emphasize the substantial knowledge, skills and attitudes outlined in the WFOT Revised Standards? Five OT Schools in the US participated. On average, all the universities covered 87% of the WFOT competencies at the Knowledge, Skills, and Attitude levels, ranging from 77% to 90%. The universities combined coverage to Knowledge was 88%, Skills was 85%, and Attitudes was 80%. The third study explored the challenges and adaptation of occupational therapists who practice in foreign countries; the perceptions of occupational therapists to their readiness to practice OT in a different country. Seven occupational therapists were interviewed. Three main themes emerged from analyzing the interviews, they were: general challenges while working in a foreign country; OT-related challenges; and issues related to occupational therapy education, several subthemes emerged as well. This dissertation contributed to OT literature by comparing standards of education of the ACOTE and the WFOT. Also by bringing attention to the challenges that occupational therapists face when moving to foreign countries and how they adapt to these challenges.Item Matching students to augmentative and alternative communication: A survey of trends and a case study(2015-12-30) Dimeo, Sarah; Baxter, Mary F.; Amerih, Husny; Pemberton, Jane; Zapf, SusanIn two studies, this dissertation sought evidence regarding occupational therapists’ (OTs’) use of assessment tools to match students to assistive technology (AT) and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) in schools, and to examine if the MATCH-ACES can help an educational team select an AAC for a student with special needs. In the first study, OTs were surveyed nationwide to collect information about their use of assessment tools and their roles in the assessment process for AT and AAC. The second study was a case study that used the MATCH-ACES to select an AAC for a student. This study tracked the student’s IEP goals and identified contributions to goal improvement. Additionally, this study examined the student’s general education teacher’s level of satisfaction with the chosen AAC intervention. Three conclusions related to OT emerged from this research. The first conclusion is that the MATCH-ACES was an effective tool to use when evaluating a student for AAC, and for choosing an AAC that satisfied the teacher’s requirements. Building on these findings, future use of the MATCH-ACES should be considered in the field of occupational therapy and explored through further research. The second conclusion is that education and training in AT assessments may build OTs’ comfort level and confidence using such assessment tools, making them more willing to use their expertise to guide AT assessments. This has the potential to increase OTs’ presence in the AT assessment process. The third conclusion is that a student’s use of AAC requires team involvement, including general education teachers, related services, and personal assistance/aide support. Additionally, training for all staff involved with the student is important to support the student’s use of AAC. Increasing support and training can have positive effects on students’ use of AAC and help them improve their IEP goals. Future research should continue to address ways that OTs contribute to AT assessment and intervention for students with AT needs in schools.