Using research literature to develop a perceptual retraining treatment protocol.

Abstract

Treatment protocols derived from research literature can help therapists provide more rigorous treatment and more systematic assessment of client progress. This study applied research findings about the influence of task, subject, and feedback parameters on adult performance with block designs to an occupational therapy treatment protocol for parquetry block assembly--an activity occupational therapists use to remediate constructional deficits. Task parameter research suggests that parquetry tasks can be graded according to the features of the design cards, with cards having all block boundaries drawn in being easier than those with some block boundaries omitted. Subject parameter findings suggest that clients' lesions and initial constructional competence can influence their approaches to parquetry tasks. Feedback parameter research suggests that a combination of perceptual and planning cues is most effective for parquetry tasks. Methods to help clients transfer constructional skills from parquetry to functional tasks are also discussed.