WFOT Congress 2026 - Presentation Summary

19th Congress of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists

9–12 February 2026|  Bangkok, Thailand

Inspiring Change, Innovating Futures

1. Keynote — The Power of Purpose: OT for a Transforming World

Professor Elspeth Froude

This keynote framed the overarching purpose of occupational therapy: promoting health and wellbeing by supporting participation in meaningful occupations — the things people want, need, or are expected to do (WFOT, 2025). Professor Froude highlighted a 17-year research-to-practice gap across the health professions, urging clinicians to bridge that divide.

Meaningful occupations were defined as everyday activities that people do as individuals, in families, and within communities to occupy time and bring meaning and purpose to life. The presentation introduced the Family of Participation Related Constructs (fPRC) model (Imms et al., 2017), which conceptualises participation as comprising attendance and involvement, influenced by preferences, sense of self, and activity competence, all within environmental and contextual layers.

Goals for participation should be co-created with the person, family, and community — centred on what individuals need to, want to, and are expected to do. Approaches for achieving participation included PREP (Pathways and Resources for Engagement and Participation; Anaby et al., 2016), CO-OP (Cognitive Orientation to Daily Occupational Performance Approach; Mandich & Polatajko, 2004), and balance and coordination training addressing body structures and function.

2. Improving Daily Living Skills in Children with ASD Through PECS-Integrated OT

Nurazrina binti Rhaman (Cemerlang Cendana Educational Centre) | Co-Author: Assoc. Prof. Dr Padma binti A. Rahman (Universiti Teknologi MARA)

This study explored the integration of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) with occupational therapy to enhance daily living skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The conclusions were threefold: first, integrating PECS with OT enhances daily living skills and supports a holistic approach to practice (Ganz et al., 2012; Case-Smith & Arbesman, 2008); second, the study highlights the need for multi-component, integrated interventions in future ASD research, pushing for more sophisticated methodologies (Landa, 2018); and third, it supports the creation of inclusive classrooms by providing tools for communication and engagement, thereby enhancing participation (UNESCO, 1994; Kasari et al., 2012).

3. Pain Awareness in Autistic Adults: Conceptualising an Overlooked Dimension of Pain Experience

Eynat Gal & Merry Kalingel Levi | Occupational Therapy Department, University of Haifa, Israel

This qualitative research conceptualised pain awareness in autistic adults as a multifaceted process. Pain awareness was broken down into intrapersonal processes (pain recognition, pain characterisation, and pain interpretation) and interpersonal processes (pain communication and pain-related interactions).

Key findings included: pain recognition — the process of realising a bodily sensation is pain — is the most fragile and delayed stage, frequently described as vague, slow, and effortful rather than immediate or automatic. Pain characterisation was especially difficult for participants, with one describing the language of pain as unfamiliar. The discussion emphasised that pain awareness is a core aspect of the pain experience among autistic people, and difficulties in this area affect both self-understanding and the ability to communicate pain to others. Because autistic people often struggle to express their pain, they may receive less treatment for pain conditions. Pain awareness should be better addressed in future research and clinical interventions.

4. Early Behavioural Predictors of Co-occurring ADHD in Autistic Youth

Allison Block, Rebekah Rodriguez, James J. Li, Brittany G. Travers | Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison

This study examined which early behavioural features might predict the co-occurrence of ADHD in autistic young people. The conclusions indicated that some aspects of autism features, such as social responsiveness, may be more prevalent in autistic youth with ADHD, and that these differences may not appear until ages four to seven. Early executive functioning challenges and externalising behaviour difficulties in autistic youth with ADHD can inform earlier ADHD co-diagnosis, allowing OT practitioners to provide more targeted supports for working memory and inhibition. Anxiety symptoms and sleep difficulties may not emerge until later in development and therefore may not serve as reliable early differentiators of an ADHD diagnosis.

5. Puberty and Adolescence in ASD: Maternal Acceptance and Personal Care

Presented at WFOT Congress 2026

This presentation explored the three main pubertal changes experienced by adolescents with ASD across physical (biological onset matching neurotypical peers), emotional (variable regulation — some improve, others regress; school workload triggering physical stress), and social domains (tendency to hide from guests, avoidance of eye contact, retreating to ‘safe zones’ instead of engaging socially).

A key finding was that the level of maternal acceptance is the strongest predictor of a supportive environment. When mothers accepted the diagnosis and pursued early intervention, outcomes were more positive, with the young person performing personal care activities with minimal support. In contrast, high severity combined with limited support led to ongoing struggles, including needing assistance with toileting and comprehensive care needs.

6. Play Differences Between Urban and Rural Children: Exploring the Impact on Creative Thinking

Kua Jee Min | National University of Malaysia (UKM)

This study compared play experiences between urban and rural Malaysian children and their impact on creative thinking. The central message was that quality of play matters more than quantity. Digital play was associated with high playfulness but low creative outcomes, whereas imaginative play produced both high playfulness and high creative outcomes.

The key takeaway was that high ‘playfulness’ scores do not guarantee high creativity — the capacity to play is universal, but the result of play depends on the context. This has important implications for OT practice in designing play-based interventions that prioritise imaginative and open-ended play over screen-based activities.

7. Partnering for Change (P4C) in the Dutch Context

Zuyd University of Applied Sciences (Piskur et al., submitted)

This presentation explored the adaptation of the Partnering for Change (P4C) model — a Canadian school-based OT approach — to the Dutch and Swedish context. Key characteristics of P4C in the Dutch context included a process-oriented approach with no ready-made solutions, adaptations focusing on the physical and social classroom (and school) environment, a focus on promoting participation of the whole class rather than individual students alone, collaboration and knowledge exchange within the inclusion team, shared responsibility for the transfer of what has been learned, and remaining embedded as part of the school context.

The associated study (Meuser et al., 2023) investigated how Dutch and Swedish teachers and occupational therapists describe their collaboration when applying P4C, using semi-structured interviews (N=8).

8. Evidence in School-Based OT Practice: A Scoping Review

Monique Harris (PhD candidate) | University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg | Supervisors: Janine van der Linde & Denise Franzsen

This scoping review examined the evidence base for school-based OT interventions. Evidence levels were determined using the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force grading system (2018). Handwriting interventions had moderate evidence at Tier 1 (whole-class level). Behaviour and emotional regulation had low-to-moderate evidence at Tier 3 (small group or individual with identified diagnoses). Alternative seating and other school-based OT interventions had low evidence.

Additional findings included: over half of studies were Tier 1 (whole-class), reflecting cost-effectiveness and OT availability; research was primarily concerned with client-related factors and performance within educational settings; there was a limited link to academic achievement and educational occupations; and a notable lack of studies focused on learners with physical disabilities and mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression.

9. Inclusive Education and Interprofessional Collaboration in the Asia-Pacific Region

Monash University

This presentation explored interprofessional collaboration between teachers and allied health professionals (AHPs) in inclusive education, grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The emphasis was on integrating habilitation and rehabilitation services within the education system, with collaboration and shared responsibility as critical factors for successful inclusion.

Discussion points included: limited publications on interprofessional collaboration between primary school teachers and AHPs in the Asia-Pacific region despite strong advocacy for a systems approach; emerging nature of inclusive education reforms for most countries in the region; Australia being a developed country with long-standing initiatives on inclusive education; traditional service delivery models where education and allied health sectors work in ‘silos’; predominant publications in AHP-focused journals; and teacher perspectives potentially not well represented in the literature.

10. Trauma-Informed Approach Among OTs Working with Children and Adolescents

Dr Adi Stern, Natalie Ghanem, Dr Liron Lamash | Ben-Gurion University of the Negev & University of Haifa, Israel

This study examined the relationship between OTs’ psychological resources and their knowledge and implementation of trauma-informed approaches (TIA) when working with children and adolescents. Using the TIAQ (Trauma-Informed Approach Questionnaire), the researchers found that higher levels of resilience were positively associated with greater trauma knowledge (r = .22, p < .01), perceived TIA relevance (r = .17, p < .05), and implementation (r = .23, p < .05). Higher self-compassion was significantly correlated with greater trauma knowledge (r = .18, p < .05) and TIA implementation (r = .22, p < .01). The perspective-taking scale showed small to moderate correlations with TIAQ parts. These findings suggest that strengthening personal psychological resources may support better trauma-informed practice.

11. From Silver Fern to Maple Leaf: Seasons of Change in Parent Coaching and OT

Tai Frater | Brunel University London | Supported by Elizabeth Casson Trust & Churchill Fellowship

This presentation explored parent coaching models within occupational therapy, drawing on experiences and practices from New Zealand (Silver Fern) and Canada (Maple Leaf). As a Churchill Fellow, Tai Frater examined the evolving landscape of parent coaching in paediatric OT, tracing how coaching approaches have developed and been adapted across different cultural and healthcare contexts.

12. Occupational Balance Among Caregivers of Children with Disabilities or Health Care Conditions: A Scoping Review

Merel Vandewalle | Elke Meuleneire, Hazel Killeen, Marieke Coussens & Barbara Piskur | UHasselt, KU Leuven, Universiteit Gent

This scoping review examined the concept of occupational balance among caregivers of children with disabilities or health care conditions. Occupational balance — the satisfying pattern of engagement in a range of everyday occupations — is often disrupted for caregivers of children with complex needs, and this review mapped the existing literature on this important topic.

13. Bridging Cultures: Adapting the DCDQ’07 for Singaporean Children

Lim Chun Yi, PhD | KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital & Singapore Institute of Technology

This study focused on the cross-cultural adaptation of the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ’07) for use with Singaporean children. The DCDQ is a widely used parent-report questionnaire for screening DCD, and this work aimed to ensure cultural appropriateness and validity for the Singaporean context — an important step in bridging Western assessment tools to diverse cultural populations.

14. Screening for DCD Before Diagnostic Age: Psychometric Assessment of the Little DCDQ (LDCDQ)

Dr Tanya Rihtman (Oxford Brookes University, UK) & Dr Miri Tal-Saban (Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel)

This presentation reported on the ongoing psychometric assessment of the Little Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (LDCDQ), designed to screen for DCD before the typical diagnostic age. Early identification is critical for timely intervention, and the LDCDQ aims to fill a gap in screening tools for younger children who may be at risk of DCD.

16. Psychometric Evaluation of the Cross-Culturally Adapted Dutch PEM-CY

Eefje Kern, Sarah Meuser, Barbara Piskur (Zuyd University) & Rachel Teplicky (CanChild, McMaster University, Canada)

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth (PEM-CY), which had been cross-culturally adapted for use in the Netherlands. The PEM-CY assesses children’s participation across home, school, and community settings, as well as the environmental supports and barriers that influence that participation.

17. Sensory Experiences and Tic Disorders in Young People

Presented at WFOT Congress 2026

This study aimed to explore sensory experiences that reduce or exacerbate tics in young people, capturing perspectives from both young people with tic disorders and their parents/caregivers. The goals were to develop a refined list of tic-modulating sensory experiences, support more targeted therapy interventions, and contribute to the broader development of a new sensory-based assessment tool. This work has direct implications for OT sensory-based intervention planning for children and adolescents with tics and Tourette Syndrome.

19. From Evidence to Action: How Closely Does Paediatric OT Practice in the UK Align with Best Practice?

Holly Graham (Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust) | Co-authors: Dr Benita Powrie, Dr Hortensia Gimeno, Georgia Vine

This study surveyed UK paediatric OTs to understand which interventions they use most frequently and how this aligns with the evidence base. Therapists use an average of 8 interventions, varying depending on the range of ages and conditions seen. The most commonly used interventions (by percentage of therapists) included environmental modifications (54.3%), parent education/training programmes (49.9%), visual supports such as checklists, timetables, and videos (47.4%), coaching with parent/other (46.1%), sensory-based approaches such as weighted vests and sensory diets (43%), problem solving (42.6%), home programmes (41.3%), school programmes (41.1%), assistive technology/equipment (40.9%), and modelling and demonstration (39.4%).

20. Empowering Children’s Voices: Participatory Methods in OT Research

Christina Schulze | ZHAW School of Health Sciences, Switzerland

This presentation advocated for the use of participatory research methods in occupational therapy to empower children’s voices. Rather than relying solely on parent or clinician reports, participatory methods involve children directly in the research process, enabling them to share their own experiences, preferences, and perspectives. This aligns with the broader movement in paediatric OT towards child-centred and rights-based practice.

21. Involvement of Families in Monitoring the Achievements of Paediatric OT in a Latin American Country

Carolina López (Club de Infancia, Bogotá) & Eliana Isabel Parra-Esquivel (Universidad Nacional de Colombia)

Based in Colombia, this presentation explored the role of families in monitoring and evaluating the achievements of paediatric occupational therapy. The study highlighted the importance of family involvement not only in the therapy process itself but in tracking outcomes and progress — a particularly relevant consideration in Latin American healthcare contexts where family-centred approaches may look quite different from those in North America or Europe.

22. Acceptability of the CO-OP Approach in Practice: A Qualitative Study with UK CO-OP Therapists

Rob Molloy (Queen Mary University of London / Whittington Health NHS Trust) | Katherine Knighting, Elspeth Froude, Hortensia Gimeno

This exploratory qualitative study investigated how UK-based occupational therapists experience and perceive the acceptability of the Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) approach in their practice. CO-OP is a client-centred, problem-solving approach that uses cognitive strategies to support the acquisition of motor skills and daily tasks, and this study aimed to understand the practical realities of implementing it within the UK healthcare system.

24. OT with Children in the UK: Who Decides What Is Important and Why Does It Matter?

Dr Benita Powrie (Australian Catholic University) | Co-authors: Dr Hortensia Gimeno, Georgia Vine, Holly Graham

This presentation raised critical questions about decision-making in paediatric OT in the UK — specifically, who determines the priorities and focus areas of practice, and what implications this has for children and families. It invited reflection on whether current practice is truly child- and family-centred or whether systemic and organisational factors shape what is prioritised in therapy.

All presentations were delivered at the 19th WFOT Congress, Bangkok, Thailand, 9–12 February 2026.