Goal attainment of children with cerebral palsy participating in multi-modal intervention.

Aim: We aimed to determine if there was a significant difference in the functional performance of family requested daily tasks by a heterogeneous group of children with cerebral palsy following a programme of neuro-developmental treatment and in comparison to a randomly control group.

Background: There are considerable challenges in conducting research into the functional performance of children with cerebral palsy. These include the highly heterogeneous nature of the population group, poor ecological and treatment fidelity, floor and ceiling effects in assessments, and insensitivity to the diverse functional needs and goals of children and families.

Children who experience difficulties with learning: mother and child perceptions of social competence.

There is an emphasis on the social competence of children who have difficulties with learning as a significant percentage also experience reduced social skills. Social competence in the classroom is becoming increasingly important as the school curriculum incorporates group work and socially directed activities for purposes of learning. A goal of occupational therapy for children with learning difficulties and their parents is that they 'fit' into their social group and form friendships.

Assessment of productivity performance in men with HIV Associated Neurocognitive Disorder (HAND).

Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to review what is known about return to productivity roles for people who have HIV/AIDS and HIV Associated Neurocognitive Disorder (HAND), to highlight gaps in knowledge and practice for assisting people with HAND to engage in productivity roles, to describe an occupational therapy assessment system that overcomes some of the limitations of current research and practice, and to demonstrate the clinical utility of this instrument for use with clients who have HAND.

Participants: The participant in this study is a man with HIV Associated Dementia (HAD), one sub-type of HAND.

Methods: The real-world impact of HAD on productivity role participation was assessed using the Perceive, Recall, Plan and Perform (PRPP) System of Task Analysis, an ecological assessment method.

Self-care at school: perceptions of 6-year-old children.

Occupational therapists who work with young children routinely evaluate self-care and consider it an important domain of practice. Little is known about what children perceive is important self-care or what they experience as self-care within a school context. Without knowledge about children's perspectives of self-care, occupational therapists cannot know whether or not they are targeting areas that are central to children's needs.

The role of work in the lives of retired men following stroke.

A study was conducted with the purpose of describing self-perceived occupational role performance and to explore the possibility that role is a concept that is understood and utilised in the planning and performance of meaningful occupations. The participants were thirteen men who had experienced a stroke and undergone rehabilitation. The naturalistic methodology employed included a single extensive interview to establish and describe self-perceived roles and occupational role performance, followed by role sorting and role rating tasks.

When is it work? Perceptions of six-year-old children.

A naturalistic study was undertaken to explore six-year-old children's perceptions of work in their school day. Twenty-four Year One children enrolled in an infants' school, located in Southern Sydney were involved. Participant observation and focus group interviewing were used to elicit descriptive information.

Cognitive and behavioural assessment of people with traumatic brain injury in the work place: occupational therapists' perceptions.

Cognitive and behavioural impairments, in the absence of severe physical disability, are commonly related to poor return to work outcomes for people with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Along with other health professionals, occupational therapists make judgements about cognitive and behavioural dimensions of work capacity of clients with TBI during the return to work process. Unlike many physical functional capacity evaluations, there is no standard method that therapists use to assess the ability of people with TBI to perform cognitive operations required for work.