Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

Exploring The Experiences Of Underrepresented Students Pursuing Health-Related Graduate Or Professional Programs, Alison Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For many years graduate and professional education programs for the health professions have sought to increase the diversity of their student body to include students from a wider variety of backgrounds. Increasing the diversity of healthcare providers is an essential component of addressing inequities in healthcare. However, despite initiatives to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the health professions, these professions remain largely White and female. Previous researchers have sought to identify the reasons that racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in healthcare, and the barriers to persistence and success. Little research exists explaining why men are underrepresented in the …

Services Provided To Aging Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities: Survey Of Speech Language Pathologists, Claire H. Gatewood

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Purpose: The present study explored current speech-language pathology service provision for aging individuals with intellectual disabilities in the United States, including areas and domains of services, factors restricting service provision, and reported knowledge and confidence of individuals within the field of speech-language pathology in providing services, to identify possible gaps of service and needed improvement.

Methods: Participants (n = 272) from across the United States completed an online survey to gather descriptive information about current speech-language pathology service provision for aging individuals with intellectual disabilities. Participants were recruited through state speech-language hearing associations and universities with speech-language pathology clinics …

“Handicap Removed”: An Alternative Path To The Social Model, Craig M. Rustici

Journal of Gender, Ethnic, and Cross-Cultural Studies

This article identifies an expression of a social model of disability in a 1966 film promoting Hofstra University’s Program for the Higher Education of the Handicapped and traces that model back to books published by the pioneering rehabilitation physician Henry H. Kessler in 1935 and 1947, decades before the UPIAS (Union of the Physically Impaired against Segregation) Fundamental Principles of Disability (1976). In light of Kessler’s articulation of social and minority models, identification of contrasting religious, charity and medical models, and discussion of disability stigma, this article reassesses Ruth O’Brien’s critique, in Crippled Justice (2001), of Kessler and the twentieth-century …

Occupation-Based Social Skills Training Program With Animal-Assisted Therapy For Individuals With Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (I/Dd), Jason Sebastian, Karen Park

Spring 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

This presentation describes the development and implementation of an occupation-based social skills training program with Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) for Individuals with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) and the implications for occupational therapy after program implementation.

Employment And Career Planning Opportunities For Young Adults With Disabilities: Advocating For Occupational Therapy, Ashley Jenkins, Keisa Boykin

Spring 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Problem: There is greater involvement of OT in transition planning services to provide a unique, client-centered perspective to enable greater engagement in meaningful employment opportunities

Purpose: The purpose of this capstone project is to advocate for the role of OT in employment-based training programs for young adults with disabilities following their transition out of high school.

Collaboration Between Occupational Therapists And Architects To Incorporate Universal Design To Increase Accessibility, Michelle C. L. Hoff, Susan Macdermott

Spring 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

The design of the built environment plays a key role in occupational participation. When the built environment is poorly designed, it severely limits accessibility for an individual with a disability. In contrast, when the built environment is well designed, it can support the occupational performance of individuals of all ages and abilities. Interprofessional collaboration between occupational therapists and architects can improve environmental barriers to occupational participation within home and community settings. Interprofessional collaboration between occupational therapists and architects has involved direct input through consultations, interprofessional education experiences, and the formation of interprofessional organizations. However, barriers to interprofessional collaboration have included …

Occupational Therapists’ Role In Educating Caregivers On Pediatric Sensory Interventions Guided By Neurodiversity Principles, Deanna Bourgeois

Student Capstone Papers

Background: Neurodivergent children often experience differences in sensory processing and self-regulation. Traditional sensory-based interventions are frequently used by occupational therapy practitioners (OTP) and caregivers to address dysregulation. However, sensory-based interventions, while often strengths-based, are not always neurodiversity-affirming.

Problem: There are minimal educational resources available to both OTP and caregivers that promote neurodiversity-affirming sensory interventions to support neurodivergent children.

Methods: The purpose of this project was to create self-paced educational modules to teach neurodiversity-affirming sensory interventions that promote children's self-regulation. To achieve this goal, the student investigator developed virtual educational modules and piloted them with OTP, occupational therapy …

Is Vision Essential To Physical Therapist Practice? Perceptions Of Interested Parties In Dpt Education, Megan Flores, Kathryn Sawyer, Kathleen Manella, Kristy Demers, Germaine Ferreira, Derrick F. Campbell, Allan Besselink, Manuel A. Domenech

Education Collection

Introduction: The perceptions of students, faculty, staff, and clinicians regarding blindness or visual impairment (BVI) and physical therapist practice were explored before, during, and after interactions with a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) student with BVI.

Review of Literature: Information is sparse about the prevalence of students with disabilities in DPT programs in the United States. Medical school programs that welcome students with disabilities report positive interactions with faculty and student peers.

Subjects: 36 (20 students, 11 faculty, 2 staff, and 3 clinical instructors)

Methods: A recent DPT graduate (pseudonym JM) with BVI classified as …

A Survey Of Universal Design At Museums: Current Industry Practice And Perceptions, Jennifer K. Fortuna, Kayleigh Thomas, Jenna Asper, Laura Matney, Kyra Chase, Stephanie Ogren, Julia Vandermolen

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Museums are key educational and cultural resources in the community, yet many are not accessible to visitors with disabilities. Universal design promotes products and environments usable to the greatest extent possible by all people, regardless of ability. This study explores current industry practice and perceptions of accessibility and universal design in a small sample of American museums. Suggestions for how occupational therapists can help museums go above and beyond ADA guidelines are provided.

Method: An 17-item cross-sectional survey was used to collect data. Twenty-five museum associations assisted with recruitment. A descriptive numerical summary and qualitative analysis were …

Moving Forward Together: Reflections Of A National Survey Of Ot/Ota Students’ Perceptions Of Culturally Aware Educational Content Delivery, Adair M. Sanchez, Iris W. Burns, Tina M. Deangelis, Maclain Capron, Abigail Mills, Taylor Kligerman

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

In June of 2020 in response to the murder of George Floyd and the additional atrocities against historically marginalized people and communities across the United States, the Commission on Education (COE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) sought to act within its scope. A retrospective survey (N= 1,692) was developed, deployed, and analyzed in accordance with the COE’s standard operating procedures relating specifically to monitoring trends that impact the education of occupational therapy (OT) and occupational therapy assistant (OTA) students. This survey aimed to capture perspectives from OT/OTA students regarding the delivery of culturally aware educational content in curricula …

Belonging In Graduate Health Professions Education- Implications For Occupational Therapy Education: A Scoping Review, Quinn P. Tyminski, Jenna N. Johnston, Vicky Hung, Jenna Gopman

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Individuals who report a high sense of belonging with their academic institution demonstrate increased levels of academic success, as measured by greater class attendance, increased appropriate classroom behaviors, and better mental health and self-concept. The available literature on this topic focuses minimally on sense of belonging in graduate health professions education and available evidence is even more sparse specific to occupational therapy education. Thus, the aim of this study was to conduct a scoping review to gather foundational knowledge regarding barriers and facilitators to belonging in graduate health professions education to determine implications for occupational therapy education. A total of …

Enhancing Support Staff Self-Efficacy In Supporting Neurodiverse Students’ Classroom Engagement, Jennifer Molina

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Executive Summary

Background: Neurodiverse students often face many challenges within their classroom environment due to a mismatch of the environmental demands and the student’s unique processing. This mismatch is often not understood by school support staff which can lead to adverse student outcomes in academic achievement and graduation rates. Support staff are often undertrained and unsupported in meeting the complex needs of neurodiverse students and OTs are often underutilized in this deficit.

Purpose: The purpose of this capstone project was to measure the knowledge and self-efficacy gained by an evidence-based training module for school support staff that promoted increased classroom …