Occupational performance coaching with parents to promote community participation and quality of life of young children with developmental disabilities: A feasibility evaluation

Introduction: High rates of community participation restriction have been reported in children with developmental disabilities who are younger than six years, affecting their health and well-beings. Effective interventions are needed, and Occupational Performance Coaching (OPC) could be one intervention that promotes these children’s community participation and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) by coaching parents to improve their child’s performance in home and community contexts.

Objectives: To examine the feasibility of OPC in promoting community participation and HRQOL of young children with developmental disabilities and to explore parents’ experience of OPC in Hong Kong.

Method: A case-study approach was used. Six parents of 4- to 5-years-old children with developmental disabilities received OPC. Outcome measures were administered pre-intervention, pos-intervention, and 2-month follow-up after intervention. Semistructured interviews were conducted to obtain parents’ experience of OPC at post-intervention.

Results: Four of the six parents completed 3–8 OPC sessions, and the other two withdrew from the study after the first session owing to child sickness or different coaching expectation. The remaining parents reported improvement in goal performance/satisfaction, and children’s community involvement and HRQOL. Increased parenting efficacy was also noted. These results were reinforced by the parents’ experience relating to increased insight and learning, change in children and themselves, and positive coach-coachee relationship, which emerged from the interviews.

Conclusion: This study suggests that OPC holds promise for use to promote community participation and HRQOL of young children with developmental disabilities. The findings support undertaking a fully-powered clinical trial of its effectiveness in Hong Kong.