Fellow's Profile
Fellow's Profile
Partnering with parents: coaching in children's occupational therapy practice
Delivering effective children's occupational therapy through parent-supported coaching
2019
South East
I am an occupational therapist (OT) specialising in working with children and young people with disabilities and their families. I am currently educating future occupational therapists at Brunel University, London.
The purpose of my Churchill Fellowship was to learn about parent coaching in occupational therapy in New Zealand, the USA and Canada. Parent coaching uses goal-directed conversations to enable and empower parents and aligns well with the professional values and aims of occupational therapy. I am excited and grateful to have the opportunity to explore settings and cultures using parent coaching and believe this knowledge will help our OT community support families within the UK.
In 2019, whilst six months' pregnant with my second child, I travelled to New Zealand to learn more about occupational performance coaching. The pandemic stalled the second leg of my Fellowship to the USA and Canada and I hope to resume this when feasible and safe. In the meantime, I have been leading a research project Coach2Thrive, offering coaching via telehealth to parents affected by the pandemic, teaching students about parent coaching and promoting parent coaching wherever I can.
Tai Frater (CF 2019) presented her Churchill Fellowship research on parent coaching in occupational therapy at the World Federation of Occupational Therapists Congress 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand.
By Tai Frater, 11 February 2026
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
Tai Frater (CF 2019) presented her Churchill Fellowship research on parent coaching in occupational therapy at the World Federation of Occupational Therapists Congress 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand.
By Tai Frater, 11 February 2026
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
