Exploring Ordinary Childhood Occupations Through Community Partnerships

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to discuss an innovative assignment, The Occupational Outline and Disability Status Report, and to describe how a community-academic partnership was formed. Community-academic collaborations provide students with the opportunity to observe children in natural environments. This partnership facilitates the development of clinical reasoning skills necessary for pediatric practice in community settings. Through observation of ordinary childhood occupations at a children's museum and a written assignment, students identify the significance of play and social participation while hypothesizing about the influence of impairments on performance.

KEYWORDS:

• Pediatrics
• childhood occupations
• academic-community collaboration