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Reflections on Using a Community-Based and Multisystem Approach to Transforming School-Based Intervention for Children with Developmental Motor Disorders

  • Disorders of Motor (PH Wilson, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Evidence-based management of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in school-age children requires putting into practice the best and most current research findings, including evidence that early identification, self-management, prevention of secondary disability, and enhanced participation are the most appropriate foci of school-based occupational therapy. Partnering for Change (P4C) is a new school-based intervention based upon these principles that has been developed and evaluated in Ontario, Canada, over an 8-year period. Our experience to date indicates that its implementation in schools is highly complex with involvement of multiple stakeholders across health and education sectors. In this paper, we describe and reflect upon our team’s experience in using community-based participatory action research, knowledge translation, and implementation science to transform evidence-informed practice with children who have DCD.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to recognize all members of the Partnering for Change research team, past and present, on whose behalf we have prepared this article. The authors thank the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, and the Ontario Ministry of Education for funding the various Partnering for Change research studies that have been conducted over the last 8 years. We also thank the partners and stakeholders who provided leadership, funded the health services, and contributed to the research activities. The authors are grateful to the health care decision-makers, educators and school communities, children and families, occupational therapists, and team members who contributed to this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University, 1400 Main Street West, Institute for Applied Health Sciences, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 1C7, Canada

    Wenonah Campbell & Cheryl Missiuna

  2. CanChild, McMaster University, 1400 Main Street West, Institute for Applied Health Sciences, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 1C7, Canada

    Wenonah Campbell, Chantal Camden & Cheryl Missiuna

  3. INCH Lab, McMaster University, 100 Main Street West, 5th Floor, Hamilton, Ontario, L8P 1H6, Canada

    Wenonah Campbell & Cheryl Missiuna

  4. School of Rehabilitation, Sherbrooke University, 3001 12e Avenue Nord, Sherbrooke, Québec, J1H 5N4, Canada

    Chantal Camden

Authors
  1. Wenonah Campbell
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  3. Cheryl Missiuna
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Correspondence to Wenonah Campbell.

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Conflict of Interest

Wenonah Campbell reports grants from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the Ontario Ministry of Education, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Ontario Neurotrama Foundation.

Chantal Camden declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Cheryl Missiuna reports grants from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the Ontario Ministry of Education, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Disorders of Motor

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Campbell, W., Camden, C. & Missiuna, C. Reflections on Using a Community-Based and Multisystem Approach to Transforming School-Based Intervention for Children with Developmental Motor Disorders. Curr Dev Disord Rep 3, 129–137 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40474-016-0081-y

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