I totally agree with this!! And, personally, havent seen anything in research to suggest otherwise! To my this goes back to the concept of you “Gain what you train.” It seems like if you practice specific skill, like with robotics, you’ll get good at THAT skill in that context, but you can’t assume it will translate to improved quality of life. From my vantage point it seems like the best way to improve at functional tasks in your day to day life is to practice them! If you are ever looking for an article to read in your class about this, I LOVE this journal article on this topic:
Rehabilitation of motor function after stroke
I also love your emphasis on education! The more the client can understand the goal of rehab and take ownership of it the better.
And, finally, it is incredible to me the changes in stroke rehab you have experienced in your career! We are SO LUCKY to be practicing in this age! To me, so many of the scientific advances of the past decades have been good news for rehab therapists, and OTs in particular!