Collaborative Research in Developmental Therapy: A Model With Studies of Learning Disabled Children

This valuable book provides clear guidance for conducting clinical research! Experts propose their research on learning disabled children as a model for other therapists interested in understanding and conducting clinical research. The most comprehensive book available on the research done by Short-DeGraff and Ottenbacher, Collaborative Research in Developmental Therapy explores clinical assessment, learning disabilities, sensory-integration theory, vestibular and proprioceptive functions, and research methodology. Short-DeGraff and Ottenbacher and their colleagues emphasize the dynamics behind getting a successful research project off the ground by demonstrating how their research studies began with some clinical observations and evolved through collaborative efforts. They discuss problems that they had with particular studies and offer suggestions, practical advice, and important considerations for therapists who wish to explore these issues in their own clinical research. They also share practical insights into selecting a research topic, understanding the ethics and politics of research, conducting studies to resolve questions raised by earlier studies, reporting research findings, publishing one’s study, and obtaining assistance with research.