Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
Prerequisites
OTHY203 Occupational Therapy Interventions for Physical Conditions AND OTHY302 Children Youth and Families AND OTHY304 Neurological Rehabilitation 2
Unit rationale, description and aim
Assistive technology is any device, system, design or environmental modification used to enable participation in occupations that a person wants to or needs to do. Provision of assistive technology is a core competency for occupational therapists in partnering with people to determine the optimal person, environment and occupation fit. The students will build on their understanding of disability, occupational rights, their familiarity with a range of assistive technology products, and occupational and environmental assessments from previous learning to develop, design, implement and evaluate effective assistive technology solutions to optimise a person’s participation. Students will consider ethical issues and apply the capabilities approach to enhance people’s opportunities, occupational rights and equitable access to assistive technology that addresses their valued needs and outcomes.
Overall this unit aims to develop students’ knowledge and practice to uphold the autonomy of the assistive technology user and their central role in all stages of the assistive technology process.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description | Relevant Graduate Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| LO1 | Apply knowledge of practice models, products, features and design principles | GC2, GC7, GC8, GC11 |
| LO2 | Demonstrate effective interprofessional and collaborative practice in providing assistive technology solutions | GC2, GC4, GC7, GC8 |
| LO3 | Justify and evaluate assistive technology solutions/home modifications to meet client needs and enable autonomy, capability and human rights | GC2, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC10 |
| LO4 | Create and report on a sustainable assistive technology solution which incorporates an evaluation of client needs, comparison of a number of potential solutions, justification of a client’s choice, a reliable and valid trial, and an efficient provision process | GC2, GC3, GC7, GC10, GC11 |
Australian Occupational Therapy Competency Standards (AOTCS) 2018
Australian occupational therapy competency standards (AOTCS) 2018 developed with in this unit are:
| Standard/Attributes/Criteria | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|
Standard 1 - Professionalism An occupational therapist practises in an ethical, safe, lawful and accountable manner, supporting client health and wellbeing through occupation and consideration of the person and their environment. An occupational therapist: 1.1. complies with the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia’s standards, guidelines and Code of conduct 1.2. adheres to legislation relevant to practice 1.4. recognises and manages conflicts of interest in all client and professional relationships 1.5. practises in a culturally responsive and culturally safe manner, with particular respect to culturally diverse client groups 1.7 collaborates and consults ethically and responsibly for effective client-centred and interprofessional practice 1.9 identifies and manages the influence of her/his values and culture on practice 1.10 practises within limits of her/his own level of competence and expertise 1.14. recognises and manages her/his own physical and mental health for safe, professional practice 1.15. addresses issues of occupational justice in practice 1.16. contributes to education and professional practice development of peers and students | LO2, LO3, LO4 |
Standard 2 - Knowledge and learning An occupational therapist’s knowledge, skills and behaviours in practice are informed by relevant and contemporary theory, practice knowledge and evidence, and are maintained and developed by ongoing professional development and learning. An occupational therapist: 2.1 applies current and evidence-informed knowledge of occupational therapy and other appropriate and relevant theory in practice 2.2 applies theory and frameworks of occupation to professional practice and decision-making 2.3. identifies and applies best available evidence in professional practice and decision making 2.8. reflects on practice to inform current and future reasoning and decision-making and the integration of theory and evidence into practice 2.9. maintains knowledge of relevant resources and technologies, and 2.10. maintains digital literacy for practice. | LO1, LO3 |
Standard 3 - Occupational therapy process and practice An occupational therapist’s practice acknowledges the relationship between health, wellbeing and human occupation, and their practice is client-centred for individuals, groups, communities and populations. An occupational therapist: 3.1 addresses occupational performance and participation of clients, identifying the enablers and barriers to engagement 3.2 performs appropriate information gathering and assessment when identifying a client's status and functioning, strengths, occupational performance and goals 3.3 collaborates with the client and relevant others to determine the priorities and occupational therapy goals 3.4 develops a plan with the client and relevant others to meet identified occupational therapy goals 3.5 selects and implements culturally responsive and safe practice strategies to suit the occupational therapy goals and environment of the client 3.6. seeks to understand and incorporate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples· experiences of health, wellbeing and occupations encompassing cultural connections 3.7 reflects on practice to inform and communicate professional reasoning and decisionmaking 3.8 identifies and uses practice guidelines and protocols suitable to the practice setting or work environment 3.11 evaluates client and service outcomes to inform future practice 3.12 uses effective collaborative, multidisciplinary and inter-professional approaches for decision-making and planning 3.13 uses appropriate assistive technology, devices and/or environmental modifications to achieve client occupational performance outcomes | LO3, LO4 |
Standard 4 - Communication Occupational therapists practise with open, responsive and appropriate communication to maximise the occupational performance and engagement of clients and relevant others. An occupational therapist: 4.1 communicates openly, respectfully and effectively 4.2 adapts written, verbal and non-verbal communication appropriate to the client and practice context 4.4 uses culturally responsive, safe and relevant communication tools and strategies 4.9 uses effective communication skill s to initiate and end relationships with clients and relevant others 4.10 seeks and responds to feedback, modifying communication and/or practice accordingly, 4.11 identifies and articulates the rationale for practice to clients and relevant others | LO2, LO3, LO4 |
Content
Topics will include:
Consumer engagement
- Enabling autonomy, choice and control for participation
- Capabilities Approach
- Disability and occupational rights
- Consumer decision making and dignity of risk
- Ethical, legal and social considerations
Design and development and prescription of assistive technology
- Materials science and product development
- Universal design
- Technical drawing
- Home modifications
- Australian and international standards and legislation
- Assistive technology solutions mainstream and customised
The assistive technology process
- Communication
- Anthropometry
- Practice models for provision of assistive technology/home modifications
- Funding schemes
- Feature matching
- Trials
- Implementation
- Training
- Evaluation
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
OTHY415 is taught as an intensive 6-week block. Guided by blended learning, students will participate in face to face workshops supported by online learning materials.
The Team Based Learning TBL pedagogy described by Sweet and Michaelson (2012) will be used. Students will be organised into teams and asked to work collaboratively on case study projects. Each team will be expected to create solutions for problems and present them to their peers for feedback. Students will be expected to engage with lectures prior to tutorials, complete formative quizzes each week, take responsibility for their learning and to participate actively within group activities. Learning activities have been designed to develop practical skills in assessment, enabling choice, feature matching, trialling and evaluating assistive technology/home modification solutions. .
Assessment strategy and rationale
A range of assessment procedures will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with ACU assessment requirements. The assessments have been designed to develop, justify and evaluate assistive technology/home modification solutions and the assistive technology process including evaluation of client needs, assessment, feature matching, implementation and training that is ethical, legal, evidence based, cost effective and develops the capabilities of the client.
In Assessment 1, students will critique an assistive technology provision case study against a range of criteria including human rights, ethics, person – occupation – environment and occupational fit, and sustainability.
Assessment 2 will be a multiple-choice assessment based on lecture content. This will assess factual knowledge of assistive technology practice models, products, features and design principles.
Assessment 3 is a report describing an evidence-based intervention plan including client problem analysis, assessment, feature matching, assistive technology solutions and a training and implementation plan. Assessment 3 is a graded hurdle task as it is the only assessment in the unit that assesses achievement of LO4.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Assessment 1: Group Written Assignment – Students work collaboratively to critique an assistive technology case study. | 30% | LO1, LO2, LO3 |
Assessment 2: Multiple Choice Assessment to assess knowledge. | 20% | LO1, LO2 |
Assessment 3: Individual report. Demonstrate report writing that addresses clinical justification for an assistive technology solution including an implementation plan. | Graded Hurdle 50% | LO3, LO4 |
Representative texts and references
Cook, A., Polgar, J., & Encarnacao, P. (2020). Assistive technologies: Principles and practice (5th ed.). Mosby.
Ainsworth, E., & De Jonge, D. (2019). An occupational therapist's guide to home modification practice. SLACK Incorporated.
National Disability Insurance Agency. (2015) Assistive Technology Strategy. https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/strategies/assistive-technology-strategy.
World Federation of Occupational Therapists. (2019). Occupational therapy and assistive technology. https://www.wfot.org/resources/occupational-therapy-and-assistive-technology