HOMELESSNESS

Homelessness

Homelessness

Homelessness In America

Homelessness has not seemed to diminish in the recent past. It is the opinion of this researcher that the development of traditional living skills appears to be a highly significant but an overlooked necessity for successful use of all the services provided.

Occupational Adaptation (OA) is a theory that describes a “normal” process of internal adaptation that occurs in human beings. In addition, thetheoryprovides the occupational therapy practitioner with a framework that guides assessment and intervention (Schkade & Schultz, 1992; Schultz & Schkade, 1992). Through using an individually selected role and goal to guide intervention, the function of the individual's local adaptation process enhances. Aninterventionplan is then developedtoenhancethe individual's capabilities. Occupational Adaptation emphasizes the interaction between the person and the environment (Schkade & Schultz, 1992). In theory, the person consists of three systems (sensorimotor, cognitive, and psychosocial) that interact with the occupational environment (physical, social, And cultural). Occupational Adaptation posits that as the person and the environment come together, there is a press for mastery that results in a Jennifer A. Johnson 65 occupational challenge or goal (Parker, S., 2004). As the individual responds to the challenges that arise, a process known as the adaptive response generation process occurs in the person. This sub process is the anticipatory portion of the adaptation process and the point at which occupational therapy intervention can play a pivotal role (Schkade & McClung, 2001). This sub process has two components: the adaptive response mechanism and the adaptation gestalt. The adaptive response mechanism is the energy that drives the process (adaptation energy), the patterns of responding to challenges that have developed with time and experience (adaptive response modes), and the particular behavior types or classes that the person uses in an attempt to respond adaptively (adaptive response behaviors).

In view of the increasingnumberof homeless individuals, the complex problems they experience, and the unique role of occupational therapy in community settings, this researcher acknowledges the potential benefits of occupational therapy. Moreover, while scholars in occupational therapyhaveinvestigated the factors contributing to homelessness, the meaning of experience, and plausible intervention strategies (Finlayson, Baker, Rodman, &Herzberg, 2002; Miller, Bunch-Harrison, Brumbaugh, Kutty, &FitzGerald, 2005; Schultz-Krohn, 2004), this researcher assert that describing the phenomenon of homelessness would be valuable. More specifically, this researcher is proposing that the theory of Occupational Adaptation (Schkade&Schultz, 1992; Schultz&Schkade, 1992) can be useful in understanding homelessness from an occupational therapy point of view (Marcuse, 2010).

Occupational Adaptation (OA) is a theory that describes a “normal” process of internal adaptation that occurs in human beings. In addition, thetheoryprovides the occupational therapy practitioner with a framework that guides assessment and intervention. It assists the occupational therapist in facilitating an individual's ability to make adaptations to engage in activities that are personally meaningful (Schkade & Schultz, 1992; Schultz & Schkade, 1992). Through using an individually selected role and goal to guide intervention, the function of the individual's local adaptation process enhances. The occupational therapist evaluates the individual's ability to carry out the activities within ...