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. 2024 Oct;44(4):568-576.
doi: 10.1177/15394492241246547. Epub 2024 Apr 29.

Occupational Therapy Outcome Measures in Preschool Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Scoping Review

Sahar Ghahramani  1 , Afsoon Hassani Mehraban  1 , Mehdi Alizadeh Zarei  1 , Sulmaz Ghahramani  2
Affiliations

Occupational Therapy Outcome Measures in Preschool Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Scoping Review

Sahar Ghahramani et al. OTJR (Thorofare N J). 2024 Oct.

Abstract

With the rising prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), early assessment of preschool children is vital for occupational therapists. This scoping review aimed to provide detailed information about outcome measures used in occupational therapy interventions in preschool children with ASD and map the focus of the outcome measures based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) components. A thorough search from 2000 to 2022 was conducted that employed ICF linking rules to categorize the outcome measures. Seventy-four outcome measures were identified. They predominantly targeted body function and activity/participation, with less emphasis on environmental factors, and none assessed body structure. The most common measures were Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS-2), Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), and Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF). This study offers a diverse array of outcome measures and underscores the potential of the ICF framework in enhancing evaluations, particularly concerning broader environmental components as one of the primary facilitating/hindering factors in the participation of children with ASD.

Keywords: Disability; International Classification of Functioning; and Health; autism spectrum disorder; outcome measure.

Plain language summary

Mapping the Available Tools for Occupational Therapy Effectiveness in Young Children With ASD Based on the ICF StructureIntroduction: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) affect how people communicate and behave, with about one in 44 children having it. Early help for ASD, such as occupational therapy, is really important. Occupational therapy helps with everyday skills and makes life better. Not many studies use good ways and tools to see whether occupational therapy works for young children with ASD. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) is a reference that helps to see how well treatments work.

Method: We did a scoping review following steps by Arksey and O’Malley. Scoping reviews help us to find important information. We wanted to see what works in occupational therapy for young children with ASD, using the ICF. We looked at studies from 2000 to 2022 and also checked different sources for studies. We made a summary of what we found.

Results: We found 802 articles but only used 46 after checking. Most kids in the studies were 4 years or older. We found 74 different tools to see whether treatments worked. The most common tools were COPM, Vineland-II, and PSI-SF. These tools looked at how children move, do things, and feel. Some ways looked at how children play, talk, and connect with others. Others focused on how parents feel. Two ways, Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) and Functional Emotional Assessment Scale (FEAS), looked at everything. Some general ways were used too. Over time, people looked more at how the environment affects children with ASD.

Conclusion: We gathered many ways to see whether treatments work for children with ASD. The most common ones were COPM, Vineland-II, and PSI-SF. Each tool looked at different parts of how children do things. We did not see big changes in how people looked at treatments over time. Children with ASD need better ways to see whether treatments help them. We should look more at how the environment affects children.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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