Parents’ Experiences with Implementing Therapy Home Programs for Children with Down Syndrome: A Scoping Review

Abstract

This scoping review explores parents’ experiences with implementing therapy home programs to determine the factors that influence compliance with incorporating therapy activities into their daily routines. Articles that described the experience of parents of children with Down syndrome with implementing an occupational therapy home program were included in this study. Peer-reviewed articles published within the past fifteen years (January 2003 - January 2018) were also included. Six articles met inclusion criteria. Three themes emerged: (1) emphasis on contextualization, (2) the parent-therapist relationship, and (3) emotional burden of parents. The findings suggest that practitioners develop interventions that are enfolded into the family’s daily routine as well as considering the parents’ emotional resources and learning style when designing therapy activities.

Keywords:

• Down syndrome
• home program
• occupational therapy
• parents

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to express gratitude to Elaine Cox, Health Sciences Librarian at Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas. Her expertise and knowledge in library science was integral to this review.

Declaration of Interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this paper.