Program Overview

OTHY302 - Children Youth and Families

Unit Rationale, Description, and Aim

Occupational therapists work in partnership with children, youth, and families to identify occupational performance and participation goals and implement evidence-based interventions. This unit builds on previous knowledge to develop skills in information gathering, evidence-based assessment, goal setting, planning, and implementing interventions, as well as evaluating outcomes and effective written and verbal reporting, specific to children, youth, and families.

The overall aim of this unit is for students to collaborate with children, youth, and their families to identify and achieve their participation and occupational performance goals.

Campus Offerings

• Ballarat: Semester 1, Campus Attendance
• Brisbane: Semester 1, Campus Attendance
• Melbourne: Semester 1, Campus Attendance
• North Sydney: Semester 1, Campus Attendance

Prerequisites

• (ALHT210 Neuroscience for Allied Health OR OTHY200 Neuroscience, Neurodevelopment) AND OTHY107 Infants and Children

Learning Outcomes

To successfully complete this unit, students will demonstrate the ability to:

1. Identify occupational performance and participation in children and youth
2. Apply appropriate theoretical and practical approaches to occupational therapy practice with children and youth
3. Interpret and report assessment findings to relevant stakeholders, and select evaluation tools, using a collaborative and interprofessional approach, for children and youth with a range of issues
4. Select, critique, and report appropriate interventions to address child and family occupational performance and participation goals, considering personal and environmental factors, occupations, and inter-professional collaboration
5. Design strategies to incorporate knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and concepts of health and wellbeing into healthcare practice to enhance cultural safety

Unit Content

Topics include:

• Understanding childhood occupations
  • Occupational roles in the home, school, and community
  • Impact of developmental disorders and diagnoses on the occupations of children and youth
  • Self-care, leisure, play, social participation, and school-based productivity
• Theories, models, and frames of reference informing occupational therapy process
  • Family- and child-centered practice
  • Developmental theory
  • International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF)
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and Emotional Wellbeing Model
  • Learning theory, motor learning theory, sensory processing theory, participation, and the family of Participation-Related Constructs (fPRC)
  • Neuro-affirming practice
• Goal setting and goal evaluation
  • Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM)
  • Goal Attainment Scale (GAS)
• Evidence-based interventions
  • Bimanual occupational therapy
  • Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT)
  • Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP Approach)
  • Functional Behaviour Analysis and Positive Behaviour Support
  • Goal Directed Training (GDT)
  • Handwriting interventions
  • Occupational Performance Coaching
  • Parent coaching
  • Pathways and Resources for Engagement and Participation (PREP)
  • Play-based interventions
  • Seating and positioning
• Strategies to support interventions
  • Environmental adaptation and assistive technology
  • Greber's 4QM model of facilitated learning
  • Home programmes
  • Play
• Inter-professional practice
• Written and verbal reporting and communication
• Service delivery models
• Funding models including NDIS

Assessment Strategy and Rationale

Assessments aim to develop written and oral presentation skills and allow students to demonstrate evidence-based practice and professional reasoning skills for working with children and families.

1. Assignment 1: Group Written Assignment - Assessment and Reporting (20%, Graded Hurdle)
   • Enables students to work collaboratively to demonstrate assessment and reporting of information for a child with a disability
   • Addresses Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3, and 5
2. Assignment 2: Written Individual Assignment - Intervention Programme (40%)
   • Enables students to develop an intervention plan for a child with a disability based on evidence and professional reasoning
   • Addresses Learning Outcomes 2, 3, and 4
3. Assessment 3: Examination - Oral (40%)
   • Students will be assessed on their understanding, selection, and knowledge of how to implement an occupational therapy intervention for a child/youth and family
   • Addresses Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3, and 4
4. Hurdle: Attendance and Involvement in the Paediatric Simulation Workshop (Ungraded Hurdle)
   • Provides the opportunity to demonstrate interprofessional collaboration, client-centered practice, and effective communication across disciplines

To pass this unit, students must achieve all learning outcomes, a cumulative mark of 50% or more, 50% or more in Assignment 1, and pass the paediatric simulation workshop.

Learning and Teaching Strategy and Rationale

This unit employs blended and self-directed learning, lectures, practical sessions, workshops, and case studies to develop students' skills and knowledge. Lectures deliver core content, while tutorials and practical sessions apply this content using case studies, role play, and experiential learning. The learning activities are designed to develop practical skills in assessment, goal setting, intervention planning, outcome measurement, and verbal and written reporting, with a focus on cultural safety and responsiveness.

Australian Occupational Therapy Competency Standards (AOTCS) 2018

This unit addresses various AOTCS standards, including those related to professionalism, knowledge and learning, occupational therapy process and practice, and communication. Students will demonstrate competence in areas such as practicing in an ethical, safe, lawful, and accountable manner; applying current and evidence-informed knowledge; and communicating openly, respectfully, and effectively.

Representative Texts and References

• Cahill, S. M., & Beisbier, S. (2020). Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Children and Youth Ages 5-21 Years.
• Dawson, D. R., McEwen, S. E., & Polatajko, H. J. (Eds.). (2017). Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance in occupational therapy.
• Ikiugu, M.N., Taff, S.D., Kantartzis, S., & Pollard, N. (Eds.). (2025). Routledge Companion to Occupational Therapy: Theories, Concepts and Models.
• Imms, C., & Green, D. (2020). Participation. Optimising outcomes in childhood-onset neurodisability.
• Jackman, M., Sakzewski, L., Morgan, C., Boyd, R. N., Brennan, S. E., Langdon, K., Toovey, R. A. M., Greaves, S., Thorley, M., & Novak, I. (2022). Interventions to improve physical function for children and young people with cerebral palsy: international clinical practice guideline.
• Kramer, P., & Hinojosa, J. (2019). Frames of reference for pediatric occupational therapists.
• O'Brien, J., & Kuhaneck, H. (2024). Case-Smith's occupational therapy for children and adolescents.
• Rodger, S., & Kennedy-Behr, A. (2017). Occupation-centred practice with children: A practical guide for occupational therapists.
• Rosenbaum, P. L., Imms, C., Miller, L., Hughes, D., & Cross, A. (2024). Perspectives in childhood-onset disabilities: integrating 21st-Century concepts to expand our horizons.
• Trembath, D., Varcin, K., Waddington, H., Sulek, R., Pillar, S., Allen, G., Annear, K., Eapen, V., Feary, J., Goodall, E., Pilbeam, T., Rose, F., Sadka, N., Silove, N., Whitehouse, A. (2022). National guideline for supporting the learning, participation, and wellbeing of autistic children and their families in Australia.

Locations

• Ballarat
• Brisbane
• Melbourne
• North Sydney

Credit Points

10

Year

2026