Ideas at Play: An Occupational Therapy (OT) Podcast

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Daily living skill performance can be hard to learn for autistic teens, even when their cognition is average or above average. This episode covers a randomized controlled trial testing a manualized program that teaches laundry, cooking, and money management to autistic adolescents, compared head-to-head with the well-respected PEERS program. We cover the results and how an OT lens could take this already-strong intervention even further. 
We share our own thoughts in the Research Review and encourage you to read the original article too.
 Duncan, A., Meinzen-Derr, J., Ruble, L., Fassler, C., & Stark, L. J. (2023). A randomized clinical trial targeting daily living skills in autistic adolescents without an intellectual disability before the transition to adulthood. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 44(9), e590–e596. https://doi.org/10.1097/DBP.0000000000001222
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Down syndrome is one of the most common diagnoses OTs work with, yet the research base behind it is surprisingly small. This week, Lacy and Michele discuss a new AJOT scoping review featuring some of the most unexpected interventions they've ever covered, from elephants to qigong massage to traditional dance. Behind the fun, though, is a bigger story about where this research is happening, and where it's falling short. 
We share our own thoughts in the Research Review and encourage you to read the original article too.
Long, K. L., Barrios Lago, M. S., & Nelson, E. L. (2026). Occupational therapy interventions in Down syndrome: A scoping review. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/19437676261464084
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📧  Email us a question or comment at IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.com
👉  Find us on Instagram @ideas.at.play

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Picture a beach in Aotearoa New Zealand — a gnarled pōhutukawa tree perfect for climbing, a rope swing hanging over the sand, and a stick sized exactly to a child's height, ready for a game passed down through generations. In this milestone 80th episode, we sit down with, Susi King, a Playmaker from New Zealand to explore how culture, land, and indigenous wellbeing frameworks shape pediatric OT practice on the other side of the world. And, hear about the new burnout-day tradition she shares with her whole team and the talking button she never travels without. 
Stay informed, stay curious, and stay playful!
✏️  Sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.
📧  Email us a question or comment at IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.com
👉  Find us on Instagram @ideas.at.play

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A 6 year-old can't hold onto multi-step directions long enough to follow them — not because he isn't listening, but because his working memory drops the information before he can act on it. This week, Michele brings a real case to the table and digs into a 2024 study comparing two cognitive strategies — enactment and visualization — to see which one actually helps kids with autism and intellectual disability with working memory. Spoiler: one of them is the clear winner, and it's not the one you'd expect if you've ever thought about autistic kids as natural visual thinkers.
We share our own thoughts in the Research Review and encourage you to read the original article too.
 Xie, T., Ma, H., Wang, L., & Du, Y. (2024). Can enactment and motor imagery improve working memory for instructions in children with autism spectrum disorder and children with intellectual disability? Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 54(1), 131–142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05780-z 
Stay informed, stay curious, and stay playful!
✏️  Sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.
📧  Email us a question or comment at IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.com
👉  Find us on Instagram @ideas.at.play

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Can a therapist facilitate meaningful handwriting improvement through telehealth? A recent randomized controlled trial out of Ankara, Turkey put that question to the test with kids ages six to eight with the inattentive type of ADHD — and the results are not what Lacy and Michele expected. Listen to hear what the researchers actually did over eight weeks of telehealth sessions and why the approach "shouldn't" have worked. Plus: a Nailed It story with  an escalating four-year-old and a floor-mat find that solved a years-long clinic space war.
We share our own thoughts in the Research Review and encourage you to read the original article too.
Kaplan Kılıç, B., Bumin, G., & Öğütlü, H. (2025). Effect of telerehabilitation on handwriting performance in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Randomized controlled trial. Child: Care, Health and Development, 51(e70055). https://doi.org/10.1111/cch.70055  
Stay informed, stay curious, and stay playful!
✏️  Sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.
📧  Email us a question or comment at IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.com
👉  Find us on Instagram @ideas.at.play