THE SELECTION PROCESS FOR A SCOPING STUDY IN THE FIELD OF AUTISM: LESSONS LEARNED

Background: As professionals in the field of occupational therapy we have a vital interest in the impact of aspects of the person, environment and occupation performed during participation. While research in ASD (autism... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
As professionals in the field of occupational therapy we have a vital interest in the impact of aspects of the person, environment and occupation performed during participation. While research in ASD (autism spectrum disorders) is extensive, an ICF-focused view on the combination of participation and environment is less available or must be detected. A scoping study methodology is used to understand, what is known about the influence of environment on participation in adolescents diagnosed with ASD.
Method:
One aim of scoping studies or scoping reviews is to identify and outline the extent and nature of current literature of interest, in particular when the area is complex, spread across multiple disciplines or has not been reviewed comprehensively before. During the (still on-going) systematic and rigorous procedure of the scoping study, various insights in the field of autism specific research in combination with participation and environment were gained.
Results:
Some of the lessons learned during the different selection stages cover wording of the field of ASD, the impact of a medical versus a psychosocial model of disability, or the focus on health service needs versus the needs of health service users.
Conclusion:
The selection process during scoping studies provides new and unexpected insights that can seldom be reported in conventional articles but are worth to be reported.
Application to Practice:
This presentation provides insight into a relatively new research method and gives a critical overview on fields and aspects of autism specific research.