Occupational Therapy Students working in collaboration with RehabCare's Asperger's Residential Services.
Deirdre Fitzgerald (NUI Galway), Aine Gallagher (NUI Galway), Elaine Scally (NUI Galway), Margaret McGrath (NUI Galway), Agnes Shiel (NUI Galway)
Abstract
Background:
In 2008 Occupational Therapy students commenced work with RehabCare as part of a service learning module ‘Emerging Areas of Occupational Therapy Practice’. This module forms a core aspect of the 3rd year Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy at the National University of Ireland, Galway.
RehabCare is a voluntary service which provides support and services for people with a variety of conditions including Asperger’s Syndrome who are living in the Western Region. In 2006 Occupational Therapy students completed an occupational therapy needs assessment for RehabCare’s Asperger’s Residential Services. This work identified a potential benefit for an occupational therapy service for this client group to address many issues including: social skills, independent living skills etc.
In 2008/2009 we collaborated with staff and service users from RehabCare to develop and implement an occupational therapy programme which would begin to address some of the service users, occupational needs.
Methods:
We worked with the service users on average 1 day per week over a period of 24 weeks. Initially our work focused on building rapport with staff and service users. Students identified the service user’s needs by reviewing previous goals they had made, use of an Interest Checklist and informal discussion. With support and supervision from a member of academic staff and from a team leader in the organisation we developed a programme to address the occupational needs of the 2 service users.
The Programme:
Our programmes were developed in collaboration with service users. After initial assessment we aimed to address the following occupational goals:
Service User 1
• To pursue a leisure interest
Interventions included – using a graded approach to develop a leisure interest within the local community and participation in a leisure activity with support from student occupational therapists.
Service User 2
• To improve social skills in order to form friendships
• To improve interview skills in order to obtain employment
• To improve study skills in preparation for exams
Interventions included – Using behavioural strategies which included role-play and modelling to work on social and interview skills. Participation in supported outings were used to practice these skills in a community context. Student educated this service user on the study methods to suit his learning style.
Outcomes/Conclusion:
Prior to this collaboration RehabCare Asperger’s Residential Service did not have access to an occupational therapy service for their clients. Evaluation forms completed by the service users and staff suggest that our partnership has facilitated service users towards meeting a number of personally relevant goals. Additionally this work has enabled us to learn more about the occupational needs of people with Asperger’s Syndrome and how we can contribute to addressing these needs in collaboration with existing community organisations. This collaboration between students and RehabCare provided a “win-win” situation for everybody involved.
