Abstract
The Thrive Program is a group-based OT treatment for transition-age youth with developmental disabilities. A retrospective review was conducted and exhibited clinically significant changes in patient goals and high caregiver satisfaction.
Primary Author and Speaker: Rebecca L. Weisshaar
Additional Authors and Speakers: Olivia Cooper
Contributing Authors: Karen Harpster, Kelly Minarchek
Transition services prepare and support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) as they enter adult roles and may include training in areas of daily living skills, vocational skills, and community engagement. The evidence supports occupational therapy (OT)’s involvement in transition services, but the utilization of OT remains minimal (Jirkowic et al., 2023). To address this gap, our team developed the Transition Services: Thrive Program. The Thrive Program is a group-based program designed to build participant independence with daily activities and empower caregivers to facilitate skill-building at home. Groups included up to 6 participants and lasted 4-6 weeks, depending on the group topic. Topics included meal preparation, personal safety, self-care, community engagement, male puberty, female puberty, and executive functioning. A retrospective review was conducted of Thrive Program data collected between January 2022 to December 2023. Data were extracted from the electronic medical record. Change in goal performance was assessed before and after each group session using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM). An online survey assessed caregiver satisfaction after each group. Fourteen adolescents between 12 and 22 years of age participated in the Thrive Program. 64% were male. The mean change in COPM performance and satisfaction scores were 2.7 and 2.9, respectively, both considered clinically important changes. In the caregiver survey, 100% of caregivers reported feeling satisfied with the program and that they would recommend it to others. Preliminary study results provide initial evidence that group-based intervention can be beneficial for adolescents and young adults with IDD. Larger prospective studies are needed to understand the generalizability and effectiveness of groups targeting transition skills this population
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