Activity Analysis, Creativity and Playfulness in Pediatric Occupational Therapy. Making Play Just Right

Activity Analysis, Creativity and Playfulness in Pediatric Occupational Therapy: Making Play Just Right is a unique resource on pediatric activity and therapy analysis for occupational therapists and students. This text provides useful information on planning creative and playful activities within therapy sessions. This resource contains case studies, activity worksheets and a DVD with over 90 minutes of video footage.

Table of Contents

Section  One  The Knowledge You Need
  Chapter  1  The Who, What, Where, When and Why of Play
  Chapter  2  Play and Pediatric Occupational Therapy: Past and Future
Section  Two  The Skills and Tools You Need
  Chapter  3  Examining Play in Our Pediatric Clients
  Chapter  4  Being Playful: Therapeutic Use of Self in Pediatric Occupational Therapy
Section  Three  And How to Apply Them
  Chapter  5  Selecting Play Activities
  Chapter  6  Adapting Play Activities
  Chapter  7  Creating Therapeutic Play Activities 
  Chapter  8  Creative Play Applications In Specific Aspects Of Pediatric Practice
Section  Four  Additional Considerations
  Chapter  9  Examining the Evidence

About the Author(s)

Heather Miller Kuhaneck, MS, OTR/L - Clinical Assistant Professor, Occupational Therapy, Sacred Heart University
Heather Miller Kuhaneck is a clinical assistant professor of occupational therapy at Sacred Heart University where she co-teaches the pediatric and research content of the program. As an occupational therapist she  has practiced in pediatrics for 20 years in a variety of settings. She has specialized in occupational therapy using Ayres sensory integration approach and uses a play based approach to practice in all work settings. She is the editor of Autism: A Comprehensive Occupational Therapy Approach, and she recently co-authored an assessment tool for pediatric occupational therapy called the Sensory Processing Measures. She is a past committee member of both the sensory integration and the school system special interest sections of AOTA, serving as Quarterly Editor for both, and is the current Vice President of the Connecticut Occupational Therapy Association.

Susan L. Spitzer, PhD, OTR/L - Occupational Therapist
Dr. Susan L. Spitzer is a pediatric occupational therapist who has practiced for 15 years in early intervention programs, public and private schools, hospitals, and private practice. A play-based approach, informed by occupational science, is the cornerstone of her practice. Dr. Spitzer also specializes in using Ayres sensory integration approach. Her doctoral research focused on understanding individual meaning in activities for young children with autism. She has been published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy, the Journal of Occupational Science, and the Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy as well as written other articles and book chapters. Dr. Spitzer presents frequently both within and outside occupational therapy and has taught pediatric occupational therapy courses at theUniversity of Southern California.

Elissa Miller, OTD, OTR/L - Assistant Professor, Sacred Heart University
Dr. Elissa Miller is a pediatric occupational therapist in private practice and an assistant professor of occupational therapy. Dr. Miller has practiced in a variety of traditional pediatric settings including school systems, outpatient sensory integration and pediatric home care and early intervention and also has created several community based leisure and sports programs for children with disabilities. Dr. Miller’s research interests include play preference, parent child attachment and playfulness in parent child interactions and play development from a dynamic systems theory perspective. She has published and presented in the areas of play preference, sensory processing and play, dynamic systems theory and child development and the use of assistive technology for play. Dr. Miller is an active member in both AOTA and the Connecticut Occupational Therapy Association.