Do Occupational Therapy Goals for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Reflect Participation? A Mapping to the ICF - CY and ICF Core Sets Study.

Researchers looked at whether occupational therapy goals for autistic children focus enough on participation in daily activities. They asked 40 occupational therapists about their most common goals and found that only about one-third of goals actually addressed participation. While international classification systems can help organize these goals, they may not cover everything occupational therapists work on with autistic children, especially around hand skills and self-care.

This study examined how well occupational therapy goals for children with autism spectrum disorder align with international classification frameworks (ICF-CY and ICF Core Sets) and whether these goals adequately address participation. Forty occupational therapists identified their three most common long-term goals, totaling 155 goals. Most goals (95.5%) could be mapped to ICF-CY categories, with 35.1% reflecting participation outcomes. There was 84.5% overlap between ICF-CY and ICF ASD Core Sets, though gaps were identified in hand function and body care categories.

The findings suggest these classification systems may be useful clinical tools but insufficient for comprehensive occupational therapy goal-setting, particularly regarding participation-focused outcomes.

Results suggest occupational therapists may need to refocus goals toward participation outcomes and that current classification systems may require modification to better capture the full scope of occupational therapy interventions for autistic children.

Small sample of 40 occupational therapists may not represent broader practice patterns. Study design and methodology are unclear from the abstract. No information provided about participant demographics, geographic distribution, or goal validation methods.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is on the rise worldwide with an increasing acknowledgement that its continuum of care to enhance participation should be multidisciplinary. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) and its derivatives ICF - Children and Youth (ICF - CY) and ICF Core Sets have been increasingly used among health professionals to enhance communication and documentation of outcomes. This study aimed at investigating the comprehensiveness of the ICF - CY and ICF Core Sets with regard to occupational therapy goals and the extent of participation representation in these goals. Forty occupational therapists working with children with ASD stated their most common three long-term goals.

The goals were then mapped to the ICF - CY two level classification. The percentage of goals reflecting "Participation" was calculated. The overlap between ICF - CY and the ICF ASD Core Sets was assessed. A total of 155 goals were extracted, of which only seven (4.5%) related to sensory processing were not linked to the ICF - CY categories. 35.1% of the total linked goals were regarded as reflecting "Participation". 84.5% of ICF - CY categories overlapped with the ICF ASD Core Sets.

Categories related to hand function, and taking care of body parts were found to be lacking in the ICF ASD Core Sets. The ICF - CY and the ICF ASD Core Sets may be feasible clinical tools for children with ASD, however, they may not be sufficient to cover occupational therapy goals. Goals also need to be modified to better reflect participation.