Blog 17: Fourth Interview

Content

1) Do OTs consider a child's IEP when deciding the child's needs? If not, how do OTs determine what a child needs to work on?

2) What can you tell me about Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA program)?

3) Would you say ABA is an effective approach to improve a child's social skills? Why or why not?

4) When it comes to social skills, how would you improve a child with ASD, ADHD, Down Syndrome or CP social skills? (What approach would you take?)
• Do kids with CP need help in social skills?

5) What can you tell me about didactic, naturalistic, and pragmatic approaches for communication intervention?

6) Of the 3 interventions what do you find most effective in improving social skills? How so?

7) Are there alternative ways to improve a child's communication skills other than group sessions?

8) How can parents help to improve their child's social skills considering the child's special needs?

9) Does a child's IEP influence an OTs approach to the child's needs during the therapy sessions? How so?

10) How would an OT conduct a group session with the goal to improve social skills for children with either ASD, ADHD, DS,  or CP? Would there be a different approach for each disorder?

11) What is the difference between how a speech pathologist improves a child's social or communication skills and how an OT improves a child's social or communication skills?

12) How does and OT improve social skills on a child who is considered non-verbal?

13) How can an OT increase responsiveness in a child with ASD?

14) How can an OT improve a child's social problem solving and cognitive-executive process?

15) What models of social competence or social outcome do the OT's here use to help them improve a child's social skills? (ie. heuristic, Cavells, etc.)

16) What can you tell me about the social information process for typical kids in this age range?

17) In what ways do group sessions treat the social challenges in children?

18) To improve a child's social deficit, what does an OT look for in the child's evaluation?

19) Can you tell me an example of how a child's social skills have shown growth through their time in group sessions and therapy?

20) How can an OT best prepare a 4-8 year old child with special needs to thrive in a social environment?

Blog 12: Third Interview Questions

Content

1) How can an occupational therapist best prepare a 4-8 year old child with special needs to thrive in a social environment?

2) What kinds of play should these specific kids practice? Why?

3) What do you think is the most significant type of play a child within this age range should learn? Why?

4) Do you think social skills is an important thing to teach kids at this particular age (not regarding if the child has special needs) ? Why or why not?

5)  What kinds of communication skills do you think is significant to learn for these specific kids?

6) What social skill do you think the kid's have the most trouble learning? Why do you think that is?

7) Do parents, siblings or other family members play a significant role in encouraging and teaching social skills?

8) Do the kids in Kid's Crew show growth by the end of the program? In what ways?

9) What do you find most difficult about teaching these kids social skills?

10) Why are social skills so important to teach 4-8 year olds with special needs, rather than just having them learn as they get older?

Blog 6: Second Interview Questions

Content

1) Sarah Meredith OTR/L. She works at Casa Colina Rehabilitation.

2) Possible questions*:

• a. What kinds of OT centers have you worked at and how long did you work there?
• b. Are you involved in OT other than Casa Colina?
• c. What classes did you take that are beneficial to you now?
• d. What school(s) did you go to? Were you in an OT program? (tell me about it)
• e. How do you evaluate patients in transitional care post-brain injury?
• f. What is your highest level of education?
• g. Was OT your focus of study?

*If there are any I shouldn't ask or need editing you can just address each one  by letter.

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

Content

1) I plan to either interview my aunt, an OTA which is an occupational therpaist assistant because she knows as much as an OTR but just has different duties so I can conveniently go to her for an interview.  Although I'm going to contact my mentor's co-worker at Casa Colina who is an OTR, in other words, a registered OT because I observed her work with a patient and said she was available to me if I had questions about occupational therapy.

2) Additional questions:

• What is the difference between an OTA or OTR?
• How do OTs evaluate patients to determine if they can function independently?
• What happens in OT skills nursing facilities?