Imaginative Practices of a Child With Autism, Essay Example

The purpose of the study is to investigate how the tension in medical ethnography between a positivist-scientific grammar of biomedicine and the literally-philosophical grammar can be harmonized by drawing from ethnography of occupational therapy practice while focusing on imaginative practice.

The literature review conducted by the author is relevant to the area of study, which is related and applicable to the field of occupational therapy practice. There is clear synthesis of relevant information to the research topic. The author has deeply synthesized the previous research and presented the clinical importance of the topic in the article. From the literature review, the author points out what is lacking in the previous research. The study draws from existing research to develop area of focus for the study.

This study is applicable to the field of occupational therapy practice since it sheds light on how narratives as an imaginary practice can be integrated in the process of healing and transformation of belonging for people with chronic illness or lifelong disability. As a student, this study enables me to understand how imaginative practices can be applied to occupational health therapy.

An ethnography study was conducted to explore the process and outcomes of a program of occupation therapy for children desalinized with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). The study took place in a nonpublic pediatric clinic, which acts as a training facility for sensory-integrative techniques as well as play-based treatment strategies. Data collected from observations, and therapist meetings with parents and caregivers were analyzed to discover how imaginative practices as an imaginative practice can be integrated to healing and transformation of children with ASD and ADHD. In her ethnographic study (…………), observed the interaction between the occupational therapists and their patients in the therapy process.

The author of the article presented findings based on an earlier grounded theory study in explaining in explaining the relevance of the study, and also discussing the link to occupational therapy session.

The author has used interviews, participant observation, video sessions, and document review in collecting and analyzing and answering the research question. the methods used in this study are suitable in achieving the desired results and achieving the purpose of the study. the author conducted participatory observation by direct observations and interviews with the therapists.

Five children with ASD and ADHD were chosen for the study with three therapists who had good education on occupational therapy. in order to make the sampling appropriate for the study, the therapists chosen for the study had additional training in administering clinical assessment of and treatment in the strategies of Jean Ayres’s sensory-integrated framework. The sample chosen was appropriate for the study since majority of the children had autism so it is worth continuing with the critical review.

The participants have been described in details and sheds light on the applicability of the sample to the research question. The therapist selected for this study have relevant education and experience in the field of study. In addition, they have knowledge on sensory-integration framework that is used in exploring the research question.

The study was conducted in a nonpublic pediatric clinic, which is a training facility for sensory-integration techniques as well as play-nosed treatment strategies. the participants in the study included three therapists and five children: three with ASD and two with ADHD. the treatment sessions were conducted within a period of one year. The data collected from these practical sessions and past research is sufficient in understanding the “whole “picture. The researcher only describe one patient while the rest were assumed to have the same problems.

The researcher provides adequate information on the data collection procedure. Data collection in the study involves direct observation of ongoing sessions, meetings with therapists, and parents or caregivers. Extended narrative interviews were used with the occupational therapists, which provided flexibility with the data collection.

The method of data analysis used were inductive . The initial stage was to collect data by writing field notes and video recording. Discourse analysis was used to get deeper analysis of the taped videos from therapy sessions. Semiotics was also used in analyzing signs and symbols used by the therapist and patients during the therapy sessions. this method was appropriate since meaning is not inherent and it could only be found from other things related to symbols. Video takes of the sessions between therapists and patients were taken for prolonged period of time to provide a deeper analysis of the research question.

Constant comparison/grounded theory was also used in data analysis. the result from field notes were first looked at in order to get insight on what is being analyzed. This was followed by identification of parameters to categorize behavior and events, which were then coded on the document. Comparison of codes eventually helps in finding consistencies and deviations. code comparison is conducted till categories are saturated and no new codes related to the topic are formed. the final stage in the study was to come up with with core categories which became the subjects of the case study.

The process of analyzing data was not adequately addressed in the research paper even though the author used play scenes to influence the development of the theme. The development of the themes for the study were based on anthropology of the senses and that of performance in the context of nonbiomedical and non-Western healing practices. the particular session used in this article was chosen since it came out to be a dominant example in healing moment through making scenes. The process of analyzing data was described adequately in the article.

The concepts under investigation were clarified through a critical literature review of previous work. The conceptual framework used in the study emerged from the work of occupational therapist and psychologist Ayres who developed a standardized assessment of sensory-integration framework. The relationship between occupational therapy and psychology became the basis for understanding the relationship between a narrative structure of experience and transformation or healing. the phenomenon under study which is healing moment through making scenes was clearly defined through the theory of dramatism.

The concepts were built around narrative by focusing data collection and analysis on how these children interacted with the therapists. Both enacted and told narratives in a cultural context were used to provide understanding of individual experiences, innate meaning or sense to bring out unexpected turn of events, and organize collective actions to predict the unknown future. Definitions of narrative were used in analyzing the important experience that emerged from the experiment.

The researcher used credible sources in data analysis and making conclusions. the data was collected for a duration of one year from the therapists, patients, and parents or caregivers. Various methods were used in data collection including interviews, observation, and practical sessions. The findings from the study can be useful in other areas with occupational therapy when dealing with patients with other disorders. This research is helpful in understanding the relationship between a narrative structure of healing and transformation. The researcher has provided information can inform on new perspectives of conducting therapy.

The study conclude that narrative as an imaginative practice is applicable healing and transformation of individuals with chronic illness or lifelong disability. By using enacted narratives as conceptual framework for analysis of experience of such people, it becomes evident that there is a relationship between action and realization of imagined possibilities.

Collaboration among health providers should be facilitated to implement clinical practice guidelines in daily practice. processes and strategies to facilitate integration of research evidence of occupational therapists into clinical practice be evaluated and developed. Clinical practice guidelines and narrative are integral part of practices of occupational therapists.