Applied Coaching Tool

The Applied Coaching Tool (ACT) was developed to increase therapist capacity and competence to implement coaching behaviours with clients. The ACT contains five coaching events that represent distinct strategies. These include Engage, Discover Goals Together, Discover Strategies Together, Practice Reflect Feedback, and Commit to Action. The ACT is a practice support tool that operationalizes the coaching events with specific, concrete, and overt therapist actions that serve to guide therapists to implement coaching techniques within their pediatric rehabilitation practice. Novice coaches (therapists) can refer to the actions and the elaboration of the actions section of the ACT for more specific examples and ideas on how to implement each event in the coaching model (what to say/do).

This section provides a brief summary of ACT. You can learn more from the publication: Teitelbaum D, Gitelman L, Daviault Z, Brunton L. Development of the Applied Coaching Tool for Pediatric Rehabilitation Therapists: A Practice Support Tool for Therapists Coaching Parents of Young Children. Phys Occup Ther Pediatr. 2025;45(5):769-784. doi: 10.1080/01942638.2025.2486119

Clinician Actions

Below is a checklist of the clinician actions included in the ACT. The clinician selects actions that are appropriate for each session.

Engage (build therapeutic relationship)

• Welcome family demonstrating curiosity, commitment and compassion.
• Demonstrate an openness to diverse cultural and personal practices, beliefs, customs and values
• Explore family’s concerns, affirming in a non-judgmental manner
• Discuss roles and expectations of client-therapist relationship and discuss the Coaching framework
• If initial visit, explore history and context of child
• If follow-up visit, obtain child update and explore progress towards their goal
• Establish focus for the day with the emphasis on concerns

Discover Goals Together

• Acknowledge the family’s existing knowledge, abilities, and strengths
• Explore family’s hopes and dreams for their child
• Explore child’s function through direct observation of child-caregiver dyad
• Offer to share appropriate clinical expertise to support family’s understanding of their child’s
  development
• Guide the family to convert their long-term hopes into small achievable goals
• The goal reflects what matters to the family. Articulate a goal together.

Discover Strategies Together

• Consider the context for learning something new
• Discuss considerations with family regarding the engagement cues and environmental set-up
• Observe family’s actions to support the development of new skills and encourage trial and
  error and problem solving through reflective questioning
• If family requests further understanding: Demonstrate specific strategies (activities,
  supportive tools, equipment) to achieve the go
• Provide information (expertise) and confirm understanding of how the strategy helps achieve
  the goal

Practice, Reflect, &  Feedback

• Encourage family to practice; providing multiple opportunities
• Observe the family member practicing the skill
• Affirm family’s dedication, effort and strengths
• Encourage family to reflect on their practice and identify strengths/concerns; using reflective
  conversation
• Supplement family’s reflection with relevant feedback regarding their practice
• Repeat Discover Strategies and Practice, Reflect, and Feedback for each additional activity/goal

Commit to Action

• Encourage family member to summarize their discovered goal
• Encourage family to summarize session activities
• Encourage family to connect the activities with their discovered goal
• Offer options to support recall for home practice
• Develop a plan for who when, what, where, and how the activity/practice will occur
• Confirm commitment to planned action
• Schedule next appointment (if necessary)