Occupation by Design

Quick Overview

This user-friendly text guides OT practitioners and students towards creatively designing and implementing occupation-based interventions for people with disabilities. It covers: understanding occupation in context; developing design skills; and applying occupation in practice. The book’s approach focuses on the interactive process of designing client-centred interventions, building a bridge between occupational science and its application in occupational therapy. It defines the seven phases of the design process – motivation, investigation, definition, ideation, idea selection, implementation and evaluation – and then provides opportunities for students to practise these steps through “Power Builder” exercises that enhance their creative thinking and problem-solving skills. Throughout, the book emphasizes the design of highly accurate interventions for therapists to implement precise services with goals which are collaborative and evidence-based, relative to the client’s personal skills, knowledge and experiences. The summary chapter, “You Are What You Do”, challenges readers to think about what kind of occupational therapist they want to be.