British Journal of Occupational Therapy

The interrelationship between the home environment, occupations and wellbeing was explored in relation to the lived experiences of three families with a child diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). Each family had acquired an extra downstairs room through moving or adapting their home, which they dedicated to their child with ASD. This project used diary records and narrative interviews to gain an in-depth understanding of how the room was used, the meaning that the family attached to this additional space and its impact on their occupational engagement.

The findings reflected the complexity of problems experienced by children with ASD and their families. They revealed that dedicated physical space was experienced as important personal, emotional and occupational space for all family members.

This study helps to develop a theoretical understanding of the importance of establishing a good fit between individuals with developmental disabilities and their home environment. It argues that space at home influences the behaviour of children with ASD, the stress levels of their parents and the occupational engagement of all members of their family, and emphasises the importance of adequate space at home for children with ASD and their families.

Following the introduction of preceptorship as a requirement for most newly qualified practitioners in the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, a preceptorship programme for occupational therapists was designed. This was the first of its kind within occupational therapy and was endorsed by the College of Occupational Therapists. Participation in preceptorship was intended to ease the transition of newly qualified occupational therapists.

This paper offers a definition of preceptorship for the profession in the United Kingdom and reports on a small qualitative study that evaluated the extent to which the interventions of the preceptorship programme ameliorated the challenges of transition. The evaluation was conducted within a realist framework. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews from four pairs of newly qualified occupational therapists and preceptors during the pilot year. The findings suggest that the preceptorship programme was successful in supporting the development of new practitioners and that implementation was optimised through strong leadership, a learning culture and positive supervision.

This paper contributes to the body of knowledge relating to the transitional experience of occupational therapists and recommends changes to the programme to optimise its effectiveness for practice.

This case report illustrates a feeding device prescription process for a Chinese woman with congenital upper limb deficiency, using the Human Activity Assistive Technology (HAAT) model. Positive experience was identified through a semi-structured interview after the participant had used the tailor-made feeding device. This report supports the HAAT model application and the importance of the sociocultural contexts in the assistive device prescription process.

This practice analysis describes the philosophical tenets and methods associated with an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programme offered to a heterogeneous group of community-dwelling individuals living with chronic conditions. The programme was sponsored by an occupational therapy graduate school as a community service and was provided by the author. The programme evaluation suggested that participants learned new ways of living, which synthesised change and acceptance strategies. The participatory learning environment, mindfulness training and lifestyle modifications associated with MBSR enhanced the participants' occupational adaptation, sense of empowerment and experience of flow during the performance of occupations. MBSR is an evidence-based approach that is consistent with the occupational therapy emphasis on health promotion and satisfying engagement in life.

This evaluation sets out to identify the main aspects of establishing and delivering a work-based occupational therapy programme. Although work-based learning is not a new concept, it is a new approach for delivering education to occupational therapy students. The evaluation considers the significant role of the practitioner lecturer in delivering the programme and explores the benefits and challenges of providing a locally work-based occupational therapy degree programme.

There is an increasing awareness of the use of role-emerging placements within occupational therapy education. A greater number of higher education institutions are recognising the value of their students undertaking at least one of their practice placements within a role-emerging setting. Similarly, students are developing a sense of the depth of the learning experience that can be gained from these placements. However, with these developments are the inevitable challenges, posed to academic staff, students, clinicians, staff within the voluntary sector and the profession as a whole. This opinion piece discusses both the challenges and the opportunities posed by the increasing use of role-emerging placements within the United Kingdom, and whether or not role-emerging placements are actually essential to the development of the profession.