Divya Sood, O.T.D., OTR/L

Coaching- A Capacity Building Model

Since 2004, her research has centered on examining the influence of social and physical environmental factors on the participation of children with autism in home, school, and community activities. In 2015, she focused on developing a capacity-building model for caregivers of children with autism, enabling them to design strategies that promote their child's overall health and well-being through a coaching approach. This coaching model empowers caregivers to create personalized strategies that suit their unique circumstances rather than simply following therapist recommendations. Caregivers are encouraged to identify goals that resonate with their family's current needs and to envision how achieving these goals manifests in everyday routines within their natural context. Through her research, she has developed interventions based on coaching principles that enhance caregivers' self-efficacy regarding their identified goals. At MWU, some of her research student groups have drawn inspiration from the coaching model for their own studies. In 2021, a group of OTD students conducted a research study that investigated the outcomes of parental coaching interventions aimed at enhancing indoor and outdoor play participation for children with autism aged 3 to 6, utilizing case study methodology. In 2022, another group of OTD students created a virtual coaching program to improve community participation for families of children with Sensory Processing Disorder.

Behavioral Health and Pediatric Primary Care- A Niche for Occupational Therapy

Primary care practices are increasingly leveraging interprofessional care teams to enhance efficiency and improve patient outcomes by offering services from various disciplines. Evidence indicates that collaboration between primary care pediatricians and occupational therapists can enrich the well-child check-up experience and effectively address a child's behavioral health needs. However, there remains a lack of comprehensive information on service delivery models that emphasize this collaboration. The focus of Dr. Sood’s research is on developing service delivery frameworks in partnership with pediatricians to meet the behavioral health needs of children. A study conducted by three occupational therapy students in 2024 serves as a preliminary examination of a telehealth-based intervention aimed at supporting self-regulation in children identified by pediatricians. Throughout just three sessions, parents ' reported effort scores for engaging their children in home and community activities decreased, suggesting early promise for integrated and accessible care models.

Exploring Nature-Inspired Play among Children 

The theory of environmental affordance enhances our understanding of how tools within our environments can promote participation. For instance, natural elements like rocks, mulch, plants, and wildlife can encourage diverse play among children. By understanding these affordances, we can create spaces that inherently stimulate a wide range of learning and play behaviors among children. One of Dr. Sood's research interests involves collaborating with local organizations to investigate how we can design environments that foster varied play experiences for children.