Parental hopes for therapy outcomes: children with sensory modulation disorders.

OBJECTIVE Understanding parents' hopes for therapy outcomes is essential to family-centered care. This qualitative study explored parents' points of view regarding their hopes for the outcomes of occupational therapy using a sensory integration treatment approach. METHOD Data were collected as part of a larger research project on the effectiveness of rehabilitating children who have sensory modulation disorders. Five interviews were randomly selected from 17 parent interviews conducted in the larger study. Data were analyzed using grounded theory methods. FINDINGS Three themes pertinent to the occupations of children and two themes related to the occupations of parenting and sustaining family life emerged. Child-focused outcomes include social participation, self-regulation, and perceived competence. Parent-focused outcomes include learning strategies to support children and obtaining personal validation. DISCUSSION Interventions are proposed that relate to children's participation in contexts in which they live, learn, and play, as well as the support of parents in the occupations of parenting.