This Lightening Talk will describe our institutionally funded innovative pilot program called Supporting and Empowering Neurodiverse Children Everyday (SENCE) that offered entry-level occupational therapy doctoral (EL-OTD) and masters’ level speech-language pathology (SLP) students a hands-on opportunity to observe, co-treat and learn from neurodiverse children and their caregivers. Graduate student clinicians, caregivers and children engaged in intrinsically motivating, meaningful, developmentally appropriate, and functional activities to best support the child’s development and both the child and caregiver’s successful participation in the therapeutic activities. We aimed to offer an interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional practice (IPP) opportunity to equip students with the knowledge and skills required for effective co-treatment and collaboration with families and community providers. Research has shown that interprofessional collaboration can improve health outcomes and increase client satisfaction.
This program explored the collective contributions of SLP and OT to support and enhance the success of neurodiverse children’s playful interactions and everyday activities with their caregivers during eight weekly individual sessions. Each session provided real-time treatment and coaching opportunities for graduate student clinicians, caregivers and their neurodiverse children to select and sustain shared activities. Strategies to support emotional regulation and communication between the caregiver and their neurodiverse child aimed to increase participation in intrinsically motivating activities that could be replicated in the home context.
As clinical faculty, we modeled effective interprofessional support for caregivers and helped graduate student clinicians to increase the relational supports within family relationships and activities. This included building awareness of the child’s language comprehension and expressive skills while considering emotional regulation, sensory processing challenges, motor planning, and motor control. The SLP and OTD graduate student clinicians were better able to interpret and identify their child's internal states, facilitate more successful and effective child-caregiver interactions. The clinical interactions and observations for students were paired with interprofessional reflection and debriefing, which have been shown to support desired learning outcomes. Client outcomes included a significant increase in activity participation on the part of the neurodiverse child and consistent increase in the caregiver’s use of strategies as an agent of support to sustain participation. Student outcomes included a significant increase in understanding of interprofessional practice and the shared growth in knowledge, skills, and mutual appreciation of SLP and OT contributions to the care of neurodiverse clients and their families.
In support of improving patient care, this activity is planned and implemented by The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education Office of Interprofessional Continuing Professional Development (National Center OICPD). The National Center OICPD is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
As a Jointly Accredited Provider, the National Center is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The National Center maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive continuing education credits.
The National Center OICPD (JA#: 4008105) is approved by the Board of Certification, Inc. to provide continuing education to Athletic Trainers (ATs).
This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit for learning and change.
Physicians: The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education designates this live activity for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with their participation.
Physician Assistants: The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME.
Nurses: Participants will be awarded contact hours of credit for attendance at this workshop.
Nurse Practitioners: The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program (AANPCP) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME and ANCC.
Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians: This activity is approved for contact hours.
Athletic Trainers: This program is eligible for Category A hours/CEUs. ATs should claim only those hours actually spent in the educational program.
Social Workers: As a Jointly Accredited Organization, the National Center is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The National Center maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive continuing education credits.
IPCE: This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credits for learning and change.
Learners can claim CE credit by completing the Daily Evaluation.
