THE IMPACT OF THE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT ON DEFINING FUNCTION IN SCHOOL-BASED PRACTICE

Objective. Whether the environment is stressed in function-dysfunction decisions appears to depend on where in the hierarchy of components o f complex tasks and of role skills the evaluating therapist is focused . This study examined the intervention planning decisions of occupatio nal therapists who used the Model of Student Role Adaptation, which em phasizes the complex tasks involved in the student role. The purpose o f the study was to determine whether these therapists were responding to environmental demands in planning their interventions. Method. Spec ial education teachers selected tasks that they believed were the most essential for student functioning within their classroom environments . These selections were compared with the gents and objectives develop ed by occupational therapists who serve children in these settings. Re sults. Chi square analysis indicated a significant relationship betwee n tasks designated by the teacher participants as environmental demand s and those included in occupational therapy intervention planning. Co nclusion. The results suggest that the occupational therapist particip ants were responding to the environmental demands of the classroom whe n constructing their intervention plans.