Introduction: The ROTOS Foundation, dedicated to Occupational Therapy (OT) and Occupational Science (OS) research, is one of three branches of OT-Europe, alongside education and practice. Its vision is to enhance the lives of European citizens by uniting OT and OS researchers under a single, influential voice to highlight the impact of their work.Objectives: To connect OT and OS researchers across Europe, fostering collaboration and maximizing the societal impact of their research.Approach: ROTOS is developing Research Interest Groups (RIGs), specialized networks that bring together professionals with shared research interests. These groups aim to integrate OT and OS perspectives into impactful research benefiting individuals and communities.Practice Implications: RIGs are led by committed researchers who voluntarily coordinate activities within their expertise areas. Each RIG serves as a hub for knowledge exchange, supporting members in sharing ongoing projects, inspiring innovation, and fostering collaboration on research initiatives and grant applications.Contribution to the OT Profession: ROTOS plays a pivotal role in advancing OT and OS research in Europe. By establishing RIGs, it cultivates a collaborative and dynamic research environment, promotes the dissemination of cutting-edge knowledge, and advocates for the societal benefits of OT. Strengthening the research network ensures that OT and OS research continues to drive meaningful change, ultimately enhancing the well-being of individuals and communities across Europe.
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In order to optimize collaboration between Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) and parents of children with Developmental Language Disorders (DLD), our aim was to study what is needed for SLTs to transition from the parent-as-therapist aide model to the FCC model and optimal collaborate with parents. Chapter 2 discusses the significance of demystifying collaborative working by making explicit how collaboration works. Chapter 3 examines SLTs’ perspectives on engaging parents in parent-child interaction therapy, utilizing a secondary analysis of interview data. Chapter 4 presents a systematic review of specific strategies that therapists can employ to enhance their collaboration with parents of children with developmental disabilities. Chapter 5 explores the needs of parents in their collaborative interactions with SLTs during therapy for their children with DLD, based on semi-structured interviews. Chapter 6 reports the findings from a behavioral analysis of how SLTs currently engage with parents of children with DLD, using data from focus groups. Chapter 7 offers a general discussion on the findings of this thesis, synthesizing insights from previous chapters to propose recommendations for practice and future research.
This paper reports on the collective ideas of the occupational scientists and therapists who attended the “Refugees – Addressing Key Social Issues” think tank at the Occupational Science Conference held in Hildesheim (2017). Forced migration is recognized as a prevalent issue in today’s society. Forced migrants face many occupational challenges, which are being exacerbated by restrictive migration policies. This paper outlines the discussions held during the think tank and presents an occupational perspective of forced migrants’ needs, followed by a desired vision of what an occupationally just world would look like for forced migrants, and future directions to guide occupation-based social transformation.
