ASSESSMENT TOOLS FEATURE development , and the use of this in possible settings within the UK .
Mathilde was keen to share her knowledge and expertise and the materials they had so far developed . She was clear that the assessment manual had been developed in draft and that she and her colleagues had started on validation of the scores , but had not managed yet to assess the numbers of children and young people of the different age groups in order to fully test the psychometric properties of the assessment tool .
The professionals from the different services all studied the manual and the proposed score system and we then felt that we needed face-to-face training in order to really understand the scope of this tool and if we could further contribute to the development of it .
Elizabeth Casson Fund I applied for a small amount of funding through the Elizabeth Casson Fund , so that we could invite Mathilde to provide the training and answer our questions .
Mathilde came over to the CCPNR in October 2018 and provided training for us all : three occupational therapists and one psychologist from the Tadworth Children ’ s Centre ; one occupational therapist from the Brainbow Service ; and one occupational therapist and one psychologist from the CCPNR .
Having been trained in the use of the assessment tool , manual and score system , we then went away to use this in the assessment of the young people who came through our doors .
We arranged two follow-up visits , during which we watched videos of several of our clients and scored the assessment as per the score system , in order to establish a high degree of inter-reliability . During the periods in between our meetings , we all practised further with the use of the assessment tool .
Outcomes and reflections It has been a valuable experience to be working in collaboration with occupational therapists and psychologists from different , but similar services within England , as well as having an international link regarding thinking about assessment and intervention of young people with an acquired brain injury .
Having everyone together in one room enabled us to exchange ideas , questions and answers in real time , and provided a face-toface , personal platform , which enhanced the collaboration .
We continue to use the Children ’ s Cooking Task , some of us more than others . We feel that the biggest value this tool gives us is a standardised way of noting our clinical observations of occupational performance skills in a real-life activity that we can bring to the multiand inter-disciplinary formulation .
Our collaboration has provided a common language between neuropsychology and occupational therapy and has brought us closer together professionally .
The collaboration and the use of the Children ’ s Cooking Task within the CCPNR as an integral part of the occupational therapy assessment has also increased the profile of the occupational therapy provision within the team .
Gomez et al ( 2021 ) conducted a systematic review to identify executive function ( EF ) instruments used by occupational therapists for children and evaluate their measurement properties . 1,337 articles were identified through database searches , occupational therapy journals and pearling . Following screening and deduplication , eight studies were included . Five EF assessments , including the Children ’ s Cooking Task and Children ’ s Kitchen Task Assessment , were identified . Adequacy of measurement properties and synthesis of best evidence varied , and there was low certainty of evidence . The authors conditionally suggest use
EVIDENCE LINK of the tools , based on the critical need to measure children ’ s executive function , but identify the need for future research to establish measurement properties across different childhood populations .
Reference Gomez INB , Palomo SAM , Vicuña AMU , Bustamante JAD , Eborde JME , Regala KA … Sanchez ALG ( 2021 ) Performancebased executive function instruments used by occupational therapists for children : a systematic review of measurement properties . Occupational Therapy International , 2021 : 6008442 . doi : 10.1155 / 2021 / 6008442
There is ongoing work to be done for this assessment tool to achieve reliability and validity . Further development , both in the realms of providing scores on control groups in the different age brackets , as well as in the realms of the influence of experience in similar tasks on score outcome will be welcome .
For now , however , we feel that this assessment provides a valuable addition to the tools currently available to occupational therapists working with young people with an acquired brain injury .
References
Poncet F , Swaine B , Dutil E , Chevignard M and Pradat-Diehl P ( 2017 ) How do assessments of activities of daily living address executive functions : a scoping review , Neuropsychological Rehabilitation , 2017
Poncet F , Swaine B , Taillefer C , Lamoureux J , Pradat-Diehl P and Chevignard M ( 2015 ) Reliability of the Cooking Task in adults with acquired brain injury , Neuropsychological Rehabilitation , 25:2 , 298-317 , DOI : 10.1080 / 09602011 . 2014.971819
Chevignard M , Soo C , Galvin J , Catroppa C and Eren S ( 2012 ) Ecological assessment of cognitive functions in children with acquired brain injury : A systematic review , Brain Injury , 1-25
Chevignard M , Galvin J , Catroppa C and Anderson V ( 2010 ) Development and evaluation of an ecological task to assess executive functioning post childhood TBI : The Children ’ s Cooking Task , Brain Impairment , 125-143
Patty van Rooij , specialist occupational therapist in children ’ s acquired brain injury , based at the Cambridge Centre for Paediatric Neuropsychological Rehabilitation . With thanks to ( in alphabetical order ): Mathilde Chevignard , Gemma Costello , Mairi Kennedy , Natalie Martlew , Aafke Ninteman , Lorna Wales , and Katie Williams
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