An exploratory study of occupational therapy’ assessment competence: competencies of occupational therapy dealing with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Abstract

Background: Occupational Therapist (OTs) dealing with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) professions face new challenges and opportunities as service delivery contexts expand. The landscape for the profession of OTs dealing with ASD is an ongoing development and delivery of services is in new or underdeveloped practise settings. Assessment of occupational therapist competence in dealing with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patient is required to ensure occupational therapists are highly competent and provide and deliver a quality health service. As a result, the current competencies of OTs dealing with ASD patients must be explored. Objectives: The primary goal of this study is to explore competencies that could be used to assess occupational therapist competence in autism settings. To explore the competencies, the following research objectives was explored; 1) To identify competencies of occupational therapy dealing with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through document analysis and 2) To identify competencies of occupational therapy dealing with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through from the perceptions of occupational therapist specialist. Methods: This study used a qualitative method design that included document analysis and interviews with six experts, including two clinician therapists and four academic professionals. Atlas.ti software was used to explore themes in the data. Data was also subjected to two types of validation procedures: Fleiss-kappa and expert content validation.Results: Thematic analysis of the data revealed six main competencies assessment constructs for OTs working with ASD patients: professionalism, performance and communication, clinical knowledge, clinical skills, patient management, and therapist contributions.Conclusions: To ensure the quality of occupational therapist services, competency assessments will allow for the evaluation of potential or existing therapists' skills, knowledge, and performance in relation to defined performance standards in order to determine their aptitude and suitability for dealing with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients.