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A Group Of Pediatric Occupational Therapists Essay

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This semester, I had the opportunity of shadowing a group of pediatric occupational therapists at KidsConnect Occupational Therapy Clinic in Houston. During my observational experience, I was able to observe the use of the Developmental, Individual Differences, Relationship-based (DIR) and Floortime model in clinical practice. This therapy approach focuses on the individual developmental differences of each child and utilizes social support and interaction to encourage the child’s ability to relate, share, and communicate with others. This therapy approach was exciting to see, as it placed emphasis on both the cognitive and physical development of each child and promoted positive social interactions between the child and their environment through social skills training. Furthermore, it seemed to be an appropriately-designed therapy approach for children, who still have so much to learn about how to interact with the world around them and are at an age where they can be heavily influenced by the skills they learn. The practice of this therapy approach, while already quite effective, can be improved in several ways through the consideration of several concepts that we have seen in our Health Psychology literature. In this paper, I will outline and review the concepts of health behaviors as they are observed through the Biopsychosocial Model, the promotion of positive health behaviors through the utilization of teachable moments and socialization, the encouragement of

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