Occupational Therapy Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Occupational Therapy

Copyright Statement

All rights reserved. This publication is intended for use solely by faculty, students, and staff of Nova Southeastern University. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, now known or later developed, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author or the publisher.

Department

College of Health Care Sciences – Occupational Therapy Department

First Advisor

Nicole Quint

Publication Date / Copyright Date

2015

Publisher

Nova Southeastern University

Abstract

A review in the literature makes it evident that employment needs of the age 21 and over ID population are not being met; the employment rate for this population continues to be less than half of the employment rate of the general population (Siperstein et al., 2013). There is evidence that occupational therapy has the potential to meet the employment needs of this population, however, practice guidelines for occupational therapists working with this population are limited. This study recruited seven participants and interviewed them using a needs assessment approach to investigate the employment needs of the age 21 and over ID population in South Florida, from the perspective of all stakeholders, further define occupational therapy intervention and practice guidelines within this matter, and propose a program to meet that need under an occupational therapy scope of practice. After analyzing study transcriptions, summative topics, or codes, were noted to be repeated throughout the data. Topics included tips for: 1) successful employment, 2) barriers towards employment, 3) positive employment outcomes, and 4) proposed solutions. Recorded information is reported as part of study findings using synthesized participant comments.

Disciplines

Occupational Therapy

Keywords

Health and environmental sciences, Employment, Intellectual disability, Occupational therapy, Successful employment, Transitions

  Link to NovaCat

 
COinS