Disability and Equity in Education Commons^™

Sensory Profile: Understanding Soothers And Stressors, Niki Elliott Ph.D.

Neuroinclusion

Sensory experiences shape how we move through the world: how we learn, focus, connect with others, and sustain energy across the day. For neurodiverse individuals in particular, sensory input is often central to how environments are experienced. Stress, fatigue, withdrawal, or overwhelm often emerge from a mismatch between a person’s sensory needs and the environments they are navigating, rather than from individual deficits or lack of effort. Lighting, noise, movement demands, unpredictability, clutter, and even well-intentioned routines can either support ease and participation or place additional strain on the nervous system. This Sensory Profile is designed to help individuals and …

Fitness For All: Education For Gym Staff Supporting People With Disabilites, Bianca Loor, Mary Jan Greer, Alison Skean

Spring 2026 OTD Capstone Symposium

This capstone project, “Fitness for All: Education for Gym Staff Supporting People with Disabilities,” focuses on improving accessibility and inclusion within community fitness settings through staff education. Individuals with disabilities often encounter barriers in gyms due to limited staff training, lack of confidence, and insufficient knowledge of adaptive fitness practices.

To address this gap, a comprehensive, evidence-based training program was developed and implemented for gym staff at Crunch Fitness Orange Park. The program incorporated occupational therapy frameworks, including the Person-Environment-Occupation (PEO) model and the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF-4), to promote inclusive and client-centered fitness practices.

Using a mixed-methods approach, …

Advocacy For Access: Ot's Role In School-Based Assistive Technology, Kalena Wedemeyer-Abney, Jazminne Orozco Arteaga

Spring 2026 OTD Capstone Symposium

This mixed-methods exploratory research study analyzes the experiences of school-based occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) in the implementation of assistive technology (AT). The research examines their perceptions regarding their role and the responsibilities that come with it. This study is grounded in the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) and seeks to understand the skill level and knowledge of practitioners, motivators to advocacy efforts, and the overall systemic environment, such as supports and barriers, that impact OTP's ability to acquire and implement assistive technology solutions. A mixed-method research survey was completed by 25 participants, with 3 participants also completing a 1-hour, optional …

Perceived Stigmatization Of Mental Health Problems And Utilization Of Academic Accommodations Among College Students, Sabrina Williams, Robert E. Davis Ph.D., Kristin Bogda Ph.D.

2026 Honors Symposium

Background: Higher education is seeing an increase in students utilizing mental health services. Studies on students with disabilities suggest students often have reservations about accessing these accommodations due to anticipated social stigmatization. Purpose: This study aimed to assess relationships among stigmatization and indicators of psychological distress among a sample of students who qualify for accommodations. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey of students at a large university in the central United States. Data collection measures included previously validated screening instruments for depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and adapted versions of the validated scales to assess specific aspects of stigma related to …

Meeting The Needs Of Students With Low Vision Or Blindness: A Resource Guidebook Through The Occupational Therapy Lens, Zoe E. Wilson, Keisa Boykin

Spring 2026 OTD Capstone Symposium

The purpose of this project is to develop a guidebook and educational tools to support the academic and social participation needs of students with visual impairments. These tools are intended to help address common challenges children with low vision face in school including difficulties accessing classroom materials, participating in group activities, and keeping up with academic expectations. The guidebook will include evidence-based strategies such as the use of low-vision aids, optical devices, and activity-based supports shown to improve quality of life for children with low vision. By providing practical resources, this project aims to enable educators and occupational therapists to …

Optimizing Makeup Application Techniques For Women With Tenodesis: Adaptations And Ergonomic Solutions, Ashley J. Medina, Wendy Tremaine, Lee Ann Hoffman

Spring 2026 OTD Capstone Symposium

To enhance independence in makeup application for women utilizing a tenodesis grasp, Ashley Medina, OTS, in collaboration with Able Faith, Inc., developed and presented a capstone poster outlining a targeted program of adaptive strategies and ergonomic solutions. This program was designed to address the unique functional challenges experienced by women with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) while promoting autonomy and confidence in daily self-care routines.

The experience objectives included: (1) identifying existing adaptive equipment that supports individuals with SCIs in completing makeup application tasks; (2) examining and understanding the roles of interdisciplinary team members working with individuals with SCI in comparison …

Diversity Speaker Series: Donnell Collins, Angela Richardson

Speaker Series

A proud graduate of Northern Illinois University and East Aurora High School, Donnell has told stories of Aurora and beyond through the lens as a photojournalist for over 30 years, including the famous Rosa Parks photo taken here at IMSA in 1995. His works have also been featured in the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Beacon News, and ESPN Magazine. Donnell is also a very proud IMSA parent and father of alum Kayla Collins Lightfoot, class of 2001! This event is brought to you by the IRC and Fine Arts Department.

The Hbcu Experience Panel : Why I Chose My Hbcu And How It Helped Me Prepare For My Career, Illinois Math And Science Academy, Angela Richardson

Educational Panels

Dr. Anita Connors White (Dean of Scholarship) - Panel Moderator

Angela Richardson (Information Resource Center, Supervisor)Event and Panel Coordinator

Panelists:

• Justin Alfred : Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge. Civil Engineering / Computer science. Lockheed Martin.
• Joseph Bertrand ‘20 : Alumni : North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Associate Engineer at Caterpillar Inc.
• Darryl Burrell Jr. : Alumni :Morgan State University . Project manager at city of Pearland, Texas engineering and Public Works.
• Dr. Garry J. Kennebrew Jr. ‘04 : MAJ, US Army Reserve. Emergency Medicine Physician . Hospitals of Providence. University Medical Center of El Paso. Studied …

Greater Newark Stem Ecosystem - 2026 Convening - Small Group Outcomes & Action Plan, Brad Schenker

STEM for Success Showcase

In January 2026, GNSE convened ecosystem partners for a co-design session focused on identifying shared challenges, opportunities, and near-term actions to strengthen STEM education and career-connected learning. Participants engaged in small-group discussions to surface barriers, enablers, and potential areas for coordinated action.

Shedding The Chrysalis: Black Women Leading In Higher Education, Olga M. Welch, Carolyn R. Hodges

Navigating Careers in Higher Education Series

Shedding the Chrysalis: Black Women Leading in Higher Education features the voices of six experienced and emerging Black females in a variety of academic leadership roles. This book provides a Black feminist perspective, highlighting the need to address racial realism within higher education administration. These personal testimonies focus on a variety of levels in the academic hierarchy to emphasize the continuum across the lived experiences of these women, some of whom have served in multiple upper-level administrative roles. The contributors’ positions range from postdoctoral research fellows to positions reporting to central administration at predominantly white institutions. Shedding the Chrysalis underscores …

Section 504 (Spanish), Children's Health School Services

School Guides

Parent guide about Section 504 school plan. Translated into Spanish.

Section 504, Children's Health School Services

School Guides

Parent guide about Section 504 school plan.

Seeing The Whole Child: Bridging Community Beliefs And Early Intervention, Grace Danladi Saleh

Graduate Research Posters

Background

The first five years of a child’s life are a very important time. What happens during these early years has a big effect on how the child grows, learns to communicate, and relates to others. When caregivers respond warmly and consistently, children tend to do better later on. However, most screening tools used to spot developmental concerns are based mainly on Western ideas of what is normal. These tools often don’t match what many families from different backgrounds believe about child growth, behavior, or communication. As a result, children from diverse communities can be missed or identified too late. …

Empowerment Through Creating An Adaptive Sports And Recreation Program For Persons With Disabilities, Sarah Kadri, Angela Labrie Blackwell

Fall 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

Adaptive sports and recreation (ASR) refers to recreational and competitive physical activities modified to be inclusive and accessible for persons with disabilities (PWD), adjusting equipment, rules, instruction, and environmental setup to support participation across a wide range of physical, cognitive, and sensory abilities. PWD often report feeling disempowered due to social stigma, inaccessible environments, and limited opportunities to make meaningful choices about leisure and community life. A lack of diverse and consistent ASR opportunities within communities collectively hinders participation and negatively impacts overall well-being. Utilizing the Person Environment Occupation Performance (PEOP) theoretical framework, this capstone project developed a 10-week swimming …

Humanizing Teacher Residencies: Moving At The Speed Of Trust To Advance Professionalism, Advocacy, And Innovation In Educator Preparation, Meghan Cosier, Cynthia Goin, Sally Hawkins, Taylor Stratz

Education Faculty Books and Book Chapters

In response to teacher shortages and inequities in teacher diversity and retention, Saint Mary’s College of California (SMC) launched three equity-centered residencies in partnership with local school districts. These residencies provide paid, yearlong co-teaching experiences with mentor teachers engaged in ongoing professional learning with a focus on building trust-based partnerships while advancing professionalism and innovation. The model prioritized recruiting local candidates in critical need areas, addressing barriers to entry, and ensuring high-quality, LEA-connected coursework. This presentation shared examples and tools from Saint Mary’s College of California’s sustainable, humanizing, and equity-centered teacher residencies and detailed enactment strategies, mentor supports, and practices …

Bridging Sensory Processing And Community Integration For Adults With Idd: A Bilingual Approach, Stephanie J. Newman, Cynthia Haynes

Fall 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

The capstone project included creation, implementation, and evaluation of an educational program. The program provided education for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their respective caregivers. The educational materials included development and implementation of educational workshops of sensory processing strategies in the community, work, and social settings for adults with IDD and bilingual home programs created for caregiver education. The program was evaluated through pre- and post-surveys administered to caregivers to demonstrate changes in knowledge of sensory processing strategies, as well as client assessments administered to assess changes in client understanding of sensory strategies.

Increasing Play Opportunities To Improve Development And Health For Children, Kallie S. Ellis, Wendy Tremaine, Emily Bush

Fall 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

Children with disabilities often experience reduced opportunities for meaningful peer play, which can negatively influence their physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development. Early childhood environments play a critical role in supporting inclusive participation, yet many barriers—physical, social, and environmental—limit access to developmentally rich play throughout the school day. The purpose of this capstone project was to develop, implement, and evaluate a Tier-1, school-based program designed to increase meaningful play opportunities for preschool children ages 3–6, with and without disabilities.

A needs assessment was conducted with teachers and parents to identify developmental concerns and participation barriers related to fine motor, gross motor, …

Hispanic Heritage Month 2025, Illinois Math And Science Academy

Cultural Read-Ins

See, I believe there are windows of hope in the present darkness of our current reality. As members of the IMSA community, we have a responsibility to find and open these windows of hope or build them if we must." -Convocation, 2021

Read-In Order

Opening Video    Dr. Torres's Retirement Video

Land Acknowledgement   Rodrigo Sanchez

Intro to Hispanic Heritage Month   Student Hosts

Remembrance Bio  Student Hosts

Tribute Performance     Poetic Justice

Introduction to Keynote  Student Hosts

Keynote Remarks  Ana Lizza Arroyo

Honor Dr. Torres's Memory   IMSA Community Members Past and Present

Community Readings    IMSA Community

Descriptive Inquiry To Advance Democracy In Early Childhood Special Education Teacher Preparation, Soyoung Park, Rae Leeper

All Faculty and Staff Papers and Presentations

The field of early childhood special education continues to be dominated by deficit-based perspectives of young disabled children. In contrast, Descriptive Inquiry supports educators to see children as multifaceted and full of strengths, promoting the democratic aim of schooling to nurture individual human flourishing for the good of society. Through a qualitative discourse analysis, we explore how 36 graduate students applied Descriptive Inquiry to their work with young disabled children. We highlight four cases of graduate students and their focus children in this article. Our findings indicate that Descriptive Inquiry can serve an important means of advancing democracy for young …

Increasing Implementation Of The Comfortable Cafeteria Program To Promote School-Age Children’S Mental Health And Well-Being, Reinecka Mondesir, Angela Labrie Blackwell Phd, Otr

Summer 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

Every Moment Counts (EMC) is a positive mental health promotion initiative that offers several initiatives to create inclusive environments that support student participation and emotional well-being throughout the school day. Comfortable Cafeteria, part of EMC, fosters positive mealtime experiences supporting peer interaction, emotional regulation, and inclusion. Many SBOT practitioners lack the resources to implement Comfortable Cafeteria, despite its benefits. This capstone project addresses the need for practical tools to help school-based occupational therapy (SBOT) practitioners integrate the Comfortable Cafeteria program into daily practice. Using the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework, the project developed and disseminated an interactive, evidence-based video …

A Specialized Training Toolkit To Increase Inclusion Of Children With Disabilities In After School Programs, Merilyn N. Powdrill, Abby Vander Laan, Angela Blackwell

Spring 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

The Inclusive Pathways Toolkit was developed and implemented in after-school programs to enhance staff competencies in supporting children with disabilities. This initiative aimed to create a more inclusive environment by providing staff with practical strategies and resources, thereby improving the overall experience and participation of children with disabilities in after-school activities.

Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Under Siege Worldwide: Moving Beyond Limiting Notions Of Gender And Sexuality In Education Organizations And Leadership, Margaret Grogan

Education Faculty Books and Book Chapters

As 2025 gets underway in the United States, educators across this country, like in many others, are bracing for unprecedented opposition to their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and policies. Newly elected President Trump is rapidly dismantling many federal agencies, cutting off aid to foreign entities, and causing major apprehension across the globe. His stated agenda to eradicate progressivism echoes many other international ultraconservative and far-right movements, who applaud his authoritarian regime. To mount the best possible resistance to these disturbing developments, and, indeed, to expand and strengthen DEI work, this chapter argues for collective action across all the …

Noteworthy, Meredith Harrigan, Patrick Montanaro

Noteworthy

Noteworthy recounts Merry's journey to understand her grief in losing her smile. She explores her community park and discovers solace and inspiration in sights and sounds along the way.

Through a unique blend of critical autoethnography, parable, collage, and visual art, this book captures the intricacy, complexity, and fluidity of navigating a difficult experience, and engages readers in exploring how human and natural elements in combination with the arts, sciences, and humanities might pave a path to self-acceptance during times of difficult change.

A Wellness And Social Engagement Program For Post-Lower Limb Amputees, Graciela Gonzalez, Cassandra Nelson

Spring 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

A wellness and social engagement program was developed and implemented to provide education relating to the mental health impacts, decrease in health management, and lack of social participation after a lower-limb amputation amongst adults, 18 years or older. The program provided a manual with educational information, external resources, and visual aids to enhance independence in activities of daily living (ADLs).

The Hbcu Experience Why I Chose My Hbcu And How It Helped Me Prepare For My Career, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy, Angela Richardson

Educational Panels

Panel/Event Coordinator: Angela Richardson

Moderated by: Dr. Anita White

Panelists:

• Justin Alfred : Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge. Civil Engineering / Computer science. Lockheed Martin.
• Joseph Bertrand ‘20 : Alumni : North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Associate Engineer at Caterpillar Inc.
• Darryl Burrell Jr. : Alumni :Morgan State University . Project manager at city of Pearland, Texas engineering and Public Works.
• Dr. Garry J. Kennebrew Jr. ‘04 : Alumni :Morehouse College. Alumni Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine . Emergency medicine physician.
• Jai.da Lewis ‘15 : Alumni :Texas Southern University Chemistry. Owner, Poised Lips by …

Adjusting Your L.E.N.S: Learn And Educate With Neurodiverse Students, Jenna Potter

Entry Level Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstone Projects Class of 2025

This doctoral capstone project, Adjusting Your L.E.N.S: Learn & Educate with Neurodiverse Students, focused on how occupational therapy (OT) can play a unique role in contributing to an inclusive postsecondary higher education (IPSE) program at a local university. This capstone project focused on supporting faculty, staff, and peer academic coaches, developing a transition camp for high school students, and enhancing the university’s current IPSE program to ensure that students with intellectual disability and autism can access higher education and learn within an inclusive and supportive setting. A faculty, staff, and academic coach training program was implemented to equip participants with …

Exploring The Educational Gap Of Virginia English Language Learners: Challenges And Opportunities For Academic Success, Amanda Purcell, Sochitl Rodriguez Kauffman

Undergraduate Research Posters

English Language Learners (ELLs) in the state of Virginia have significantly lower scores in the Standards of Learning (SOL) assessment exam than those of their English-speaking peers. The SOL measures students’ mastery of knowledge and skills taught in the classroom, and over the last decade, passing rates of the assessment’s core subjects amongst ELLs have continued to decrease and remain relatively low. In the 2023-2024 academic year, the average passing rate for ELLs who took the Writing SOL was only 26%, with Science being not much higher at 29%, and Reading at 33%. For the non-ELL student body, average rates …

Helping Children With Adhd Thrive At Home And In The Classroom, Lindsey Lott, Mary Greer, Lisa Griggs-Stapleton

Fall 2024 OTD Capstone Symposium

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common neurobiological disorder in the U.S. Yet, 69% of parents and 70% of teachers feel underprepared in their ability to support children with ADHD (Miller, 2021; Asherson, 2024). This capstone program aimed to address this issue by creating a strengths-based, family-centered program rooted in the Ayres Sensory Integration framework, designed for caregivers and teachers of children with ADHD (Ayres, 2005). Conducted at a pediatric outpatient clinic, nearly 40 parents /caregivers and teachers of children with ADHD participated in this program. Participants received an ongoing educational experience covering topics such as the neurology and neuronal …

Parent Perceptions Of Modified Toy Cars Influence On Play For Children With Disabilities: A Case Study, Taylor Brown, Angela Labrie Blackwell, Erik Pérez, Karen Aranha

Fall 2024 OTD Capstone Symposium

Play is a crucial childhood occupation because it facilitates the growth of various developmental skills. Children with disabilities (CWD) often exhibit intrinsic factors that can prevent them from participating in meaningful childhood occupations, such as play. Mobility play is a specific type of play that refers to any means for the child to explore and move around their environment, which can be accessed through the use of commercially available toys, including motorized toy cars. However, these commercially available toys are not always accessible to this population due to their unique presentation that hinders performance and participation in the desired and …

Adapting Classroom Activities To Increase Social Engagement, Ivie Hacker, Mary Jan Greer Ph.D., Otr

Fall 2024 OTD Capstone Symposium

This capstone program focuses on enhancing the development of children with disabilities through adaptive play strategies. It aims to create a supportive, engaging environment that accommodates the unique needs of children on the autism spectrum. By incorporating individualized play techniques, the program promotes social, emotional, and cognitive skills, fostering greater communication, creativity, and physical coordination. The project explores the role of adaptive play in improving social interactions, reducing sensory sensitivities, and building self-confidence, ultimately contributing to the overall well-being and development of children with autism.