ORIGAMI AS A TOOL FOR SOCIAL WORKERS TO ASSESS SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN

Assessment is a critical component of the social work field. It is crucial, as it identifies the essential needs and wants of the client. Origami is a beneficial tool used by other mental health professionals to observe and evaluate children's dimensions such as social and motor skills, frustration, self-regulation, attention-concentration, and more however, little research has examined origami in the context of assessments used by social workers with children. This primarily qualitative case study explores how social workers can benefit from origami as an assessment tool for five to twelve-yearold children. Sixteen social workers (n=16) completed an online survey about the benefits of using origami to help assess and identify children's current issues. Twelve codes and four themes were created. Results correlate with previous mental health literature stating that origami is a helpful assessment aid tool to observe motor skills, follow directions, self-regulation, social skills, creativity, spatial awareness, problem-solving, concentration, and self-esteem among children. This research provides new knowledge to help social workers assess children. It provides social workers with a tool that other mental health professionals are benefiting from. Additionally, it introduced social workers to an assessment aid that is considered easy to use, non-threatening simple, and without a cultural barrier. Additionally, social workers interested in other ways to understand children also benefit from this research.