Can Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) help Children with Asperger's Syndrome to Master Social and Organisational Goals?

Abstract

Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) is a cognitive problem-solving approach that has recently been used with children with Asperger's syndrome (AS) to achieve motor-based goals. Children with AS have a marked impairment in social interaction, which is pervasive and continues across the lifespan. Many of these children also experience organisational difficulties. There has been limited research regarding social skills interventions for children with AS. Existing social skills interventions lack evidence for the generalisation and transfer of learned skills to new environments.

This paper presents two case studies of children with AS to address both the utility and the potential of CO-OP to enable mastery of social and organisational goals. Two boys, aged 10 and 12, engaged in 10 CO-OP sessions. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, the Social Skills Rating Scale and the Performance Quality Rating Scale were used to determine goal achievement pre-intervention and post-intervention. The post-intervention measures showed that both children improved in social and organisational skills, and they generalised and transferred their learning to their home and school environments. Modifications to CO-OP for children with AS, study limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.