Creating an interactive environment for pediatric assessment.
OBJECTIVE
An interactive assessment room (IAR) was conceived to explore the effect of a dynamic environment on the pediatric assessment process and subsequent individualized goal development.


METHODS
Selection of a central theme, creation of a multipurpose space, provision of multisensory experiences, maximization of environmental affordances, provision of effective motivators and opportunities for goal attainment, and facilitation of a transdisciplinary assessment were identified as integral to designing the IAR. A central farm theme was selected to create five task-oriented activity stations.


RESULTS
The IAR offered a creative assessment environment for transdisciplinary, practice-based application of current motor development and behavioral models. In addition, the IAR facilitated exploratory play essential to promoting the client's optimal performance to arrive at the development of appropriate treatment goals.
de Armas Weber
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Center for Development and Learning, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.
Easley-Rosenberg
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A