An opportunity not to be missed: involving parents in their child’s emotion regulation intervention. Commentary on “Promoting emotion regulation in young children with autism via parent-mediated intervention: lessons learned from an initial investigation” (Rispoli, Malcolm, Norman, Nathanson, & Mathes, 2021)
Search citation statements
Paper Sections
Citation Types
Year Published
Publication Types
Relationship
Authors
Journals
Cited by 1 publication
References 32 publications
The experiences of occupational therapists supporting children with self‐regulation needs: A qualitative descriptive study
IntroductionOccupational therapists support children with self‐regulation needs to engage in meaningful occupations at home, school, and in the community. However, little is known about how Australian practitioners perceive their role working with children with self‐regulation needs in the Australian healthcare context. Therefore, we explored the contemporary practice experiences of Australian occupational therapists working with children 4–12 years referred for self‐regulation support, to better understand elements constituting efficacious service delivery to enhance occupational engagement.MethodsA qualitative descriptive design, underpinned by constructivism and relativism, was implemented to address the research aim. Occupational therapists were recruited online to participate in audio‐recorded focus groups and interviews. The audio recordings were anonymised, transcribed verbatim, and analysed through reflexive thematic analysis.Consumer and Community InvolvementNo consumers were involved in the study design or analysis.FindingsFour themes were generated, encapsulating the experience of 13 occupational therapists working with children with self‐regulation needs: (1) navigating the complexities of self‐regulation, (2) intervening to support the child and surrounding systems, (3) bringing the occupational therapy perspective to the self‐regulation puzzle, and (4) working within an evolving practice context. Themes 1–3 describe specific processes that all occurred within the context of Theme 4. Overall, participants detailed successful practice to support children with self‐regulation needs to participate in meaningful occupations that required person‐centredness, collaboration, coaching, and adaptability of therapists responding to different stakeholder demands.ConclusionSelf‐regulation is a complex area of practice, and occupational therapists have a key role in supporting occupational engagement by balancing the child's needs with those of family, other stakeholders, and funding bodies. Findings support occupational therapists and decision‐makers advocating for the unique role of occupational therapy in supporting self‐regulation in childhood as part of a collaborative, multi‐disciplinary approach. Specific consideration must also be given to ways that current funding schemes in Australia enable occupational therapy services for children with self‐regulation needs.Plain Language SummaryControlling emotions and behaviours is sometimes called ‘self‐regulation’. Some children find this hard and need help from an occupational therapist, who knows a lot about the body and the systems within it. A lot of occupational therapists in Australia help children with their self‐regulation. There is not much known about how these therapists see their role in working with these children. We wanted to understand what it is like for occupational therapists who help children, between 4 and 12 years old, with their self‐regulation. We interviewed 13 occupational therapists from across Australia and analysed what they said. The data showed four main points: (1) understanding the challenges of self‐regulation, (2) helping the child and their environment, (3) using an occupational therapy approach to solve self‐regulation issues, and (4) working in a changing practice environment. The therapists described how important it is to focus on the child, work together with many people like caregivers and teachers, and being flexible. They talked about how they balance the needs of the child, family, and funding bodies, which could sometimes be tricky. The study shows the things that therapists are doing when working with children who need help with their self‐regulation and the things that therapists find hard working in this space. The results of the study can be used by people who advocate for services that help children and by people who make decisions about Australia's healthcare. One way the study can be used is to think about how current funding schemes do or do not allow different people and professions to work together to support children's self‐regulation. Even though there were some limitations, such as a low response rate due to the stress of the COVID‐19 pandemic, we did interview therapists from different parts of Australia who work in different settings to each other.
The experiences of occupational therapists supporting children with self‐regulation needs: A qualitative descriptive study
IntroductionOccupational therapists support children with self‐regulation needs to engage in meaningful occupations at home, school, and in the community. However, little is known about how Australian practitioners perceive their role working with children with self‐regulation needs in the Australian healthcare context. Therefore, we explored the contemporary practice experiences of Australian occupational therapists working with children 4–12 years referred for self‐regulation support, to better understand elements constituting efficacious service delivery to enhance occupational engagement.MethodsA qualitative descriptive design, underpinned by constructivism and relativism, was implemented to address the research aim. Occupational therapists were recruited online to participate in audio‐recorded focus groups and interviews. The audio recordings were anonymised, transcribed verbatim, and analysed through reflexive thematic analysis.Consumer and Community InvolvementNo consumers were involved in the study design or analysis.FindingsFour themes were generated, encapsulating the experience of 13 occupational therapists working with children with self‐regulation needs: (1) navigating the complexities of self‐regulation, (2) intervening to support the child and surrounding systems, (3) bringing the occupational therapy perspective to the self‐regulation puzzle, and (4) working within an evolving practice context. Themes 1–3 describe specific processes that all occurred within the context of Theme 4. Overall, participants detailed successful practice to support children with self‐regulation needs to participate in meaningful occupations that required person‐centredness, collaboration, coaching, and adaptability of therapists responding to different stakeholder demands.ConclusionSelf‐regulation is a complex area of practice, and occupational therapists have a key role in supporting occupational engagement by balancing the child's needs with those of family, other stakeholders, and funding bodies. Findings support occupational therapists and decision‐makers advocating for the unique role of occupational therapy in supporting self‐regulation in childhood as part of a collaborative, multi‐disciplinary approach. Specific consideration must also be given to ways that current funding schemes in Australia enable occupational therapy services for children with self‐regulation needs.Plain Language SummaryControlling emotions and behaviours is sometimes called ‘self‐regulation’. Some children find this hard and need help from an occupational therapist, who knows a lot about the body and the systems within it. A lot of occupational therapists in Australia help children with their self‐regulation. There is not much known about how these therapists see their role in working with these children. We wanted to understand what it is like for occupational therapists who help children, between 4 and 12 years old, with their self‐regulation. We interviewed 13 occupational therapists from across Australia and analysed what they said. The data showed four main points: (1) understanding the challenges of self‐regulation, (2) helping the child and their environment, (3) using an occupational therapy approach to solve self‐regulation issues, and (4) working in a changing practice environment. The therapists described how important it is to focus on the child, work together with many people like caregivers and teachers, and being flexible. They talked about how they balance the needs of the child, family, and funding bodies, which could sometimes be tricky. The study shows the things that therapists are doing when working with children who need help with their self‐regulation and the things that therapists find hard working in this space. The results of the study can be used by people who advocate for services that help children and by people who make decisions about Australia's healthcare. One way the study can be used is to think about how current funding schemes do or do not allow different people and professions to work together to support children's self‐regulation. Even though there were some limitations, such as a low response rate due to the stress of the COVID‐19 pandemic, we did interview therapists from different parts of Australia who work in different settings to each other.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
Contact Info
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Product
Resources
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.
