Developmental Frame of Reference

  • The developmental frame of reference (FOR) suggests that development is sequential, and behaviors are primarily influenced by the extent to which an individual has mastered and integrated the previous stages. This FOR views people as dynamic, developing, and people’s lives go through stages of growth and decline, which require necessitate adaptation by the individual. People develop at different rate, but each stage of development can only proceed normally if the preceding stages have been completed successfully. Incomplete development in area(s) of skills or life stage would influence subsequent development. This FOR includes six adaptive skills: sensory integration skill (ability to receive, select, combine, and coordinate sensory information for functional use), cognitive skill (ability to perceive, represent and organize sensory information for thinking and problem solving), dyadic interaction skill (ability to engage in a variety of primary groups), group interaction skill (ability to participate in a variety of primary groups), self-identify skill (ability to perceive self as an autonomous, holistic, acceptable person who has permanence and continuity over time), and sexual identify skill (ability to perceive sexual nature as good and to participate in long term sexual relationships). Mastery of skills to an age-appropriate level in all areas of development is necessary to achieve satisfactory coping behaviors and adaptive relationships. Occupational therapy prevents developmental of maladaptive behavior and skills, and promote growth and developmental links to close the gap between the expectation and ability through skilled application of activities and relationships. Assessments include interviews, observations, review of records, projective techniques, tests, and collaboration with caregivers to assess for disrupted or ceased development. Intervention techniques include activities, relationships, and environment, to facilitate the development of particular skills.

Summarized by

  • Macey Cho

Type

  • Frame of reference

Population

  • Child
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Elderly

Disability

  • All

Domain of occupation

  • Unspecified

Application Note

  • It emphasizes on assessing and intervening incompetent or maladaptive skills that are not mastered during developmental stages.

Key Reference

  • Creek, J. (2014). Approaches to practice. In W. Bryant, J. Fieldhouse, & K. Bannigan (Eds.), Creek's occupational therapy and mental health (5th ed., pp. 50-69). Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.

Year Published

  • 2014

Primary Developer

  • Jennifer Creek

Primary Developer Email

  • jennifer.creek@cot.co.uk

Related Models

Children’s play model

  • The children’s play model views play as necessary and the main occupation of children. An episode of joyful, self-chosen play from children’s perspective is symbolized by a sandcastle diagrammatic model. Play shares similar characteristics with a sandcastle, each component of the sandcastle describes a component of a play episode. Overall, a play episode is like a sandcastle, it is complex and temporary, and constructed for playfulness. It can happen in various contexts, like alone or with family or a group of peers, either spontaneously or planned.

Framework of Occupational Justice (FOJ)

  • The Framework of Occupational Justice (FOJ) offers an occupational perspective of justice or injustice on everyday occupations. This framework emphasizes on the inclusion of every individual in an occupationally just word (i.e., the environment, such as community and government, in which the individuals can do what they decide to be the most meaningful and useful to themselves, family, communities and nations). It illustrates how the inter-relationships of structural factors and contextual factors support or restrict occupational outcomes and occupational rights.

Frame of Reference for Visual Perception

  • This frame of reference adapts a top-down approach to identify visual perceptual factors that limit an individual’s daily participation, and adaptive and compensation approaches are used to facilitate engagement in meaningful occupation. It uses theories from cognition, developmental psychology, education, and Warren’s developmental hierarchy of visual perceptual skills. Visual Perceptual skill development is viewed to be developed from a hierarchy, starting from oculomotor control, visual fields, visual acuity.

Vona du Toit Model of Creative Ability (VdTMoCA)

  • The Vona du Toit Model of Creative Ability (VdTMoCA) (Van der Reyden et al. 2019) is founded on the theory of creative ability developed by South African Occupational Therapist, Vona du Toit (du Toit, 1974).   This model's unique contribution to the Occupational Therapy profession is understanding people in terms of sequential levels of creative ability. The term creative refers to one's ability to change in response to life‘s demands (the creation of oneself), as well as creation of tangible things and solutions to problems.

     

A Model of Children’s Play

  • This model aims to conceptualize children’s underlying skills and behavioral elements characteristic of play, as well as the influences that both individual and environmental factors. Embedded in the play environment and cultural and familial milieu, this model includes developmental play capacities (cognitive, physical and social play skills) and individual play style (internal control, freedom to suspend reality and intrinsic motivation) that make up the child’s contribution to the play transaction. Play reflects the child’s cognitive, motor, language and social skills.

Model Type

Population

Disability

Domain of Occupation

  • © 2024 HOTheory - All rights reserved.