Community-Based Occupational Engagement: A Functional, Group-Based Fine Motor Program for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract Background Day programs are an option for working parents looking for programming for their adult with intellectual disability (ID) following a drop in programming that commonly occurs after their child graduates high school. Great Prospects, Inc. in Roswell, GA is one such program that aims to provide affordable, meaningful, and effective day program for adults ages 20-40 with ID. Adults with ID commonly experience decreased fine-motor performance, difficulty with social skills, and decreased community participation which impacts self-efficacy and quality of life. Craft-based activities are a common intervention to address these fine motor skills deficits. However, functional, group-based, fine motor activities have been shown to improve community-based IADLs requiring fine motor skills among adults with intellectual disability. Objective The purpose of this capstone project was to develop a functional, group-based fine motor intervention for adults with ID who attend Great Prospects, Inc. ACOTE Area Primary Area (d) Program Development and Evaluation Relevant Areas (g) Education and (h) Leadership Methodology A formal single-participant interview Needs Assessment was conducted with the Great Prospects, Inc. Program Director. A gap in programming was established and the need for a functional, group-based fine motor program was identified. The program was developed based on evidence on each activity’s effectiveness towards improving components of fine-motor, social, or community-based skills. The program was developed for up to 15 participants per session due to the maximum number of daily participants at Great Prospects, Inc. Results The resulting program consisted of six, one-hour long intervention sessions designed to target functional fine-motor skills, as well as social and community-based skills for adults with ID. The capstone student also completed a trial run of the capstone program to identify areas for improvement, which were incorporated into the final Weekly Plan writeup. Program components included a writeup for the Capstone Student to follow to while leading each sessions, including opportunities to for grading, the Fine Motor and Social focus of each session, and Materials Needed for each week. Conclusions This capstone program encourages awareness and knowledge of the OT process and profession in programs that do not currently have on-site practitioners. This program also aligned with the Association of Occupational Therapy (AOTA)’s emphasis on community-based interventions and expanding the OT profession past traditional medical settings to address broader societal needs (AOTA, n.d.). If formal data were collected in the future, this foundational component of the capstone program could be more thoroughly investigated. Future research may be able to reference this program as an evidence-based, six-week program aiming to facilitate independence in community-based IADLs through group-based, functional fine-motor activities for adults with ID.