Reflection paper on OT program coursework & capstone project
Introduction
Autism spectrum disorder is a disability that impacts an individual's behavior, communication, and interests in activities. Young adults with USD report negative experiences during the transition from high school to college. An issue to put into consideration is that if transition is a challenging experiencing for everyone, what about individuals who struggle with a disorder that limits their social and communication ability? This indicates that the transition becomes more complex to people with ASD in that they have a difficult task in adjusting to life and managing their life. Therefore, these students need support and guidance to help them manage their emotions, solve their problems, and make decisions by analyzing different situations. The proposed transition curriculum will help achieve the OT program-level outcomes and hence support ASD students during post-secondary transition. The purpose of the transition curriculum is to provide academic curricula to educators, counselors, occupational therapists, school district representatives, behavioral specialists, special education teachers, and other transitional teams. The curriculum transition will help achieve the goals of OT program in that the transition team will gain knowledge about the needs of transition, they will gain evidence-based information, critical reasoning skills, and develop collaboration in addressing challenges experienced by students with ASD.
How OT program-level outcomes (PLOs) are met
The Capstone project focus on developing a transitional education program where occupational therapists, educators, and another transition team will support students with ASD enroll in postsecondary education (AOTA, 2020). A point to note is that to prepare the students with disabilities gain a positive high school transition, occupational therapists and educators need professional knowledge. Occupational therapists and educators play a significant role in connecting the students with social support, ensure that students with disabilities are included in all educational aspects, and provide students with reasonable accommodations, and adaptive equipment to ensure full participation in education (AOTA, 2020). They also address the students' personal needs and protects their rights. The capstone project recognizes the important role of the occupational therapist and other community members and concludes that it is important to create a curriculum for service providers. The curriculum will provide evidence-based practices to support students and help them go through a positive transition. The capstone projects state that the project aims at achieving positive outcomes such as ensuring effective transition and creating a positive environment for higher education (AOTA, 2020). The paper will explain how the OT program-level outcome will be met concerning the Capstone project and Program Learning Outcomes.
The transition curriculum will advance the profession and the occupational therapists will understand the potential barriers to a successful transition. The purpose of the transition curriculum is to aid the occupational therapy create transition planning and goals. An important point to note is that one goal of the occupational therapy program is being competent in the field of occupational therapy (Coffelt & Gabriel, 2017). Lifelong learning allow occupational therapists to develop professional growth and meet social need. Thus, the transitional curriculum will allow occupational therapy to grow personally and professionally and address the needs of students with ASD. Note that students with ASD are unable to communicate, and they cannot comprehend information. In higher education, these students meet the new physical challenge and they lack the skills to adapt to the new environment (Coffelt & Gabriel, 2017). They develop anxiety and depression due to lack of socialization, and lack of support system. At this point, occupational therapists play a significant role in supporting the student, teaching them social skills, management skills, connects them with social groups, among other roles. Education curriculum designed for the service providers will help occupational therapists advance the profession, build competence, and the knowledge will aid in understanding the students' needs.
Students with ASD experience myriad issues that not only act as a barrier to learning but also hinder life success. In higher education, students with disabilities lack reasonable accommodation since fellow students and staff do not appreciate their condition. The capstone projects address these challenges by proposing a transition curriculum where occupational therapists will develop knowledge on the importance of supporting students by helping them set realistic goals, develop a healthy living, among other skills that are important in life (Case-Smith & Arbesman, 2008). However, it is important to note that in addressing the need for students with disabilities, occupational therapists should use evidence-based knowledge. Also, occupational therapists should integrate evidence-based practice to provide the students with the best intervention and support which address their needed. Since the occupational therapists may lack the knowledge or an evidence knowledge which will make a positive change, the transition curriculum will create programs that are effective and have also evidence (Case-Smith & Arbesman, 2008). This means that occupational therapists will apply a science-based exercise to improve quality.
Another thing about the proposal of transition curriculum in the Capstone project is that the curriculum will provide an opportunity to interact with the inter-Professional team and determine effective interventions. To understand the unique needs of the students with ASD, it is important to use different perspectives or encourage community participation where different service providers should work together to make decisions and help the students gain a positive transition and adapt to the new environment. For example, families would play a significant role in developing an individual plan to support the student gain a positive experience during transition. In general, the transition curriculum will allow occupational therapists to work with the local community to identify the gap and barrier to a positive transition. In this particular case, the communities, families, and occupational therapists will play a role in environmental and behavior modification.
The transition curriculum embraces the goals of occupational therapy. Occupational therapists are required to adhere to the code of honesty while addressing students' issues. In the educational setting, occupational therapies may help the students solve problems related to anxiety, loneliness, self-awareness, and more (Loy et al. 2015). In addressing these issues, the occupational therapist should show professional behaviors and as a result, the students will develop a positive relationship with the therapist and develop a positive attitude toward learning. Thus, the transition curriculum will promote professional behaviors which in turn will help the student’s understand themselves better (Loy et al. 2015).Thus, the proposal of transition curriculum to support students with disability is related to the OT program outcomes in that the curriculum will help the occupational therapist acknowledge the role of occupational therapy in promoting health and wellness. Also, occupational therapists will be aware that it is important to follow the principles and concepts and abide by the standard of practice. Finally, occupational therapists are required to have leadership skills and engage in leadership behavior. Note that while addressing the issues or in this case the students' needs, the occupational therapists have power and influence. They should create a cooperative relationship with the clients, act as a mentorship, among other roles (Fleming-Castaldy & Patro, 2012). The transition curriculum will provide occupational therapists with leadership competencies that would enable solve the client's problem.
Conclusion
The capstone topic and project demonstrate the OTD program outcomes. An important point to note is that the capstone may take different forms but its overall aim is to develop professionalism, promote critical reasoning, and ensure that the occupational therapists integrate evidence-based knowledge in diverse settings. Overall, students with ASD experience challenges while joining institutions. These challenges act as a barrier in their personal and academic life. Students are not prepared during high school transition and they do not find support programs in college where they can develop a sense of belonging and feel part of the environment. The capstone project has proposed a transition program where occupational therapists and educators will access resources and programs that will guide on how to address the issue faced by students especially those with ASD. Intimately, the transition curriculum helps occupational therapists address the need for ASD students. The practices are aligned with the OT program and therefore the ultimate objective is to fulfill the OT goals. The last point to note is that occupational therapists use reasoning, value collaboration with family and communities, and focus on promoting health and well-being.
References
American Occupational Therapy Association. (AOTA). (2020). Students with disabilities in
postsecondary education Settings: How Occupational Therapy Can Help. https://www.aota.org/about-occupational-therapy/professionals/rdp/postsecondary-education.aspx
Johnson Coffelt, K., & Gabriel, L. S. (2017). Continuing competence trends of occupational
therapy practitioners. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 5(1), 4.
Case-Smith, J., & Arbesman, M. (2008). Evidence-based review of interventions for autism used
in or of relevance to occupational therapy. American Journal of Occupational
Therapy, 62(4), 416-429.
Fleming-Castaldy, R. P., & Patro, J. (2012). Leadership in occupational therapy: Self-perceptions
of occupational therapy managers. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 26(2-3), 187-
202.
Loy, B., Micheff, H., Nguyen, K., & O'Brien, V. (2015). Interprofessional collaboration between
occupational therapists and nurses in an acute care setting: an exploratory study.
