The Seeds OT Model · Part 4 of five · 2:54
Learn to see differently
The clinician’s stance in the Seeds OT Model: widening attention, holding explanations lightly and reviewing decisions as the situation changes.
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Video transcript
0:00The person doing the looking
Part four turns towards the clinician. It is possible to understand a framework and still reach for one quick explanation when a situation is difficult. Families need useful support, and clinicians often need to make decisions with an incomplete picture. The Seeds OT Model treats the way we look as something to practise. Can we remain curious about the situation while still making a clear, practical next decision?
0:29Widen the field of attention
Widening attention means looking at the child in the activity and the setting, with the people and demands involved. Diagnosis remains useful, but it does not describe every variation in daily participation. Ask what the child is being asked to do, what support is present, and when the same activity goes differently. The aim is not to discard a focused assessment. It is to connect what that assessment tells us with the wider situation.
0:55Orientation, held lightly
The written model calls this orientation rather than certainty. Orientation is a working sense of what may matter and where a careful next step could be useful. It is held lightly enough to change when new information arrives. Acting with uncertainty does not mean acting without assessment or beyond your competence. It means being clear about what is known, what is still a question, and what you will watch for as the work continues.
1:23Language can open a question
One small practice is to examine the language in a formulation. A fixed description of a child can close a question before it has been explored. A description of what happens in a particular situation invites more detail. What was difficult? When did it become difficult? What made joining in more possible? The purpose is precision and curiosity, not replacing one fashionable phrase with another. The language should help the team understand the child’s experience.
1:53Several things can remain true
Holding several relevant conditions in mind does not require a complicated explanation for the family. The clinician can keep the broader picture while agreeing on a small number of practical priorities. A biological difference, a demanding setting and limited recovery time may all deserve attention. Working on one does not require declaring the others irrelevant. Supervision and shared reflection can help us notice when our preferred explanation has become more certain than the information supports.
2:24A question for supervision
Before the next part, bring one formulation to reflection or supervision. Ask what you are assuming, what in the child or family’s account does not fit, and what information would change your view. Then return to the next activity or decision rather than staying with uncertainty in the abstract. Part five gathers the series into a shared vocabulary, a reasoning cycle and a mapping tool that can support this way of working.