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Occupational therapy in an equine environment: a transactional description of practice

dc.contributor.authorBentele, Christof, author
dc.contributor.authorWood, Wendy, advisor
dc.contributor.authorPergolotti, Mackenzi, committee member
dc.contributor.authorHepburn, Susan, committee member
dc.date.accessioned2018-09-10T20:04:46Z
dc.date.available2020-09-06T20:05:05Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.description.abstractObjective: The purpose of this thesis was to vividly illustrate and comprehensively depict occupational therapy in an equine-environment (OTee) –a novel intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)– using a transactional perspective of inquiry. Method: This thesis is comprised of three chapters: an introduction and statement of the problem, a manuscript written for submission to the Journal of Occupational Science and a final chapter reflecting on the thesis process. The study at the center of the manuscript sought to create an account of OTee using methods informed by a transactional perspective. Guided by this theoretical framework, a hermeneutic narrative analysis was chosen to systematically move through almost 40 hours of video data and accompanying field notes. I conducted the narrative analysis in three steps, following a hermeneutic arc: naïve interpretation, structural analysis and comprehensive understanding. Results: Through the process of narrative analysis, I produced a holistic description of OTee that captured a large portion of the entire occupational experience. The results show that OTee takes place across six architectural spaces. There were six categories of actors that played important roles during the intervention. Seventeen distinct occupational opportunities were identified and were organized in a consistent pattern across sessions. Individual differences in the construction of the intervention were found across the children with ASD, typically relevant to the occupational goals or challenges identified by the therapists before the intervention began. A narrative description of OTee was then created, pulling all of the individual components together and relating parts to a great whole. Three segments were identified and used to structure the storytelling, beginning with pre-mounted time, to mounted time and finally to post-mounted time. The roles of the actors are explored during each segment, as well as how they related to the architectural spaces and the other actors over time. Conclusion: Hermeneutic narrative analysis is an effective method for producing a comprehensive description of OTee. As of yet, no study of any equine-assisted activity or therapy has produced a description of practice with as much detail while portraying the entire context as in this study. I argue that this work is consistent with the current literature attempting to adapt a transactional perspective to the study of occupation. Further, the methods I chose are novel and advance our understanding of occupation by illustrating occupational therapy in a way never before available.
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediummasters theses
dc.identifierBentele_colostate_0053N_14953.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10217/191363
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relation.ispartof2000-2019
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.subjectequine-assisted activities and therapies
dc.subjectoccupational therapy
dc.subjecttransactionalism
dc.subjecthermeneutics
dc.subjectautism spectrum disorder
dc.subjectoccupational therapy in an equine environment
dc.titleOccupational therapy in an equine environment: a transactional description of practice
dc.typeText
dcterms.embargo.expires2020-09-06
dcterms.embargo.terms2020-09-06
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplineOccupational Therapy
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (M.S.)

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