Kavitha Murthi, MS, OTR, FHEA (UK), is PhD Candidate, Department of Occupational Therapy, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University, New York;
Kristie Patten, PhD, OT/L, FAOTA, is Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, and Vice Dean of Academic Affairs, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University, New York.
Am J Occup Ther. 2023 Mar 1;77(2). doi: 10.5014/ajot.2023.050166.
Executive functions-specifically, problem-solving skills-are crucial for school success. Challenges in these functions faced by autistic adolescents are often unrecognized or viewed through a behavioral lens that requires correction or normalization. A lack of development of higher order problem-solving skills leads to increased instances of secondary mental health issues, creating further behavioral and social challenges. We propose using the Engineering Design Process (EDP), a flexible, cyclical, top-down, self-sustaining approach that uses peer mediation to teach group problem-solving skills. We then position this cycle within existing occupational therapy models to demonstrate its adaptability and flexibility, describe the distinct features of this problem-solving strategy, and present a real-world case study in which the EDP is used as a problem-solving approach in an after-school program. The EDP develops crucial social and interpersonal skills using interest-driven occupations and can be organically used as a group strategy. This article uses the identity-first language autistic people. This nonableist language describes their strengths and abilities and is a conscious decision. This language is favored by autistic communities and self-advocates and has been adopted by health care professionals and researchers (Bottema-Beutel et al., 2021, Kenny et al., 2016).
执行功能——特别是解决问题的能力——对学校的成功至关重要。自闭症青少年在这些功能上所面临的挑战常常未被识别，或者被视为需要纠正或规范的行为问题。高阶问题解决能力的缺乏会导致更多的二级心理健康问题，从而带来更多的行为和社交挑战。我们建议使用工程设计过程（EDP），这是一种灵活的、循环的、自下而上的、自我维持的方法，使用同伴调解来教授小组解决问题的能力。然后，我们将这个循环置于现有的职业治疗模型中，以展示其适应性和灵活性，描述这个问题解决策略的独特特征，并展示一个现实世界的案例研究，其中 EDP 被用作一个课后项目中的问题解决方法。EDP 使用以兴趣为驱动的作业来发展关键的社交和人际交往能力，并可以作为一种有机的小组策略使用。本文使用了“自闭症人士”的身份优先语言。这种非残疾歧视语言描述了他们的优势和能力，是一种有意识的决定。这种语言受到自闭症社区和自我倡导者的青睐，并已被医疗保健专业人员和研究人员采用（Bottema-Beutel 等人，2021 年；Kenny 等人，2016 年）。
