This study aims to provide empirical evidence on the effectiveness of one mentorship program in occupational therapy as well as exploring participant reactions to the instructional activities and instructional delivery modes. Using a retrospective pretest posttest design, data were collected from 26 participants. Responses to an 18-question survey were collated and summarized using frequency and percentages. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to determine the significance of changes in perceived experience levels. Outcomes suggest content was relevant, understandable and impacted clinical practice. Learning activities that emphasized small group problem solving during live treatment sessions or in Q & A sessions were reported to be most useful. Results of this study enhance our understanding of professional development and provide a valuable framework for other healthcare disciplines.

Abstract Date Presented 04/05/2025 This study supports the links between oxytocin receptor single nucleotide polymorphisms, caregiver reciprocity, and infant–toddler development but extends findings to relatively novel constructs (caregiver–infant co-occupations and infant–toddler sensory processing and preference). Primary Author and Speaker: Bryan M. Gee Additional Authors and Speakers: Nicki L. Aubuchon-Endsley, Brittany Banh, Madeline Hudson, Emma Opoku, Jason Gibbs

Background: This study delves into the interplay between sleep quality and sensory processing in infants and toddlers in underserved rural areas in the U.S. Despite established links between these variables in typically developing children, limited research explores this relationship in communities facing elevated rates of mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders. Methods: We aimed to examine the connections between sensory processing at 10, 14, and 18 months postpartum and sleep quality at 18 months in a rural and medically underserved setting. A total of 44-53 participants completed the questionnaire and survey measures at the specified time points. Results: Utilizing the Infant Toddler Sensory Profile-2 and the Infant Health and Sleep Questionnaire adapted from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, our analysis revealed that infants within the majority range for registration at 10 and 18 months displayed enhanced sleep quality at 18 months, with the 14-month analysis showing a trend towards statistical significance. Conclusion: These findings underscore the need to further explore the sensory processing domain of registration, given its consistent relationship with sleep outcomes across different ages in the sample. Infants in the majority range for sensation avoiding at 18 months exhibited improved sleep quality, suggesting that appropriately limiting exposure to noxious stimuli may contribute to more restorative sleep or vice versa.

Date Presented 04/03/2025 Presentation of an interprofessional education model for graduate OT and SLP students in a preschool setting that improved collaboration and mutual understanding of professional roles. Primary Author and Speaker: Bryan M. Gee Contributing Authors: Wendy M. Morgan, Karissa Miller, Andrea M. Brown, Shannon Paulson

Date Presented 04/03/2025 The findings of this study demonstrate the complex, multifaceted nature of quality of life after traumatic brain injury (TBI), identifying major personal, environmental, and occupational challenges that either support or hinder their quality of life. Primary Author and Speaker: Natalie King Additional Authors and Speakers: Mary Shotwell, Bryan M. Gee

Background: Occupational therapy entry-level education is filled with opportunities for experiential learning. Post-professionally, few opportunities exist for participation in structured mentored experiences. Mentoring in health care professions is not new; it has resurged over the past 15 years, documenting the nature of mentorship for practicing clinicians, the design of programs to promote advancement, and the effectiveness of these programs. Level I Mentorship by the STAR Institute uses a small group format and entails a blend of live and online instruction, fostering discussion and reflection rooted in on-site learning experiences. This qualitative study aims to understand participants' perceptions of STAR Institutes' Level I Mentorship and its impact on their clinical practice. Methods: This qualitative study explored data from eight participants who took part in a focus group. Results: By employing ATLAS.ti Web for qualitative data analysis, involving three raters, and implementing strategies to ensure the reliability of the findings, a multitude of categories and themes emerged, including (a) instructional methodology, (b) professional development, (c) treatment implementation, and (d) assessment implementation. Conclusion: The STAR Level I Mentorship Program and its instructional content played a pivotal role in aiding clinicians in developing and validating their comprehension of the subject matter. Moreover, it served as a resource for their professional development, equipping them with tools to navigate both opportunities and challenges in their clinical practice.

Background: Caregiver–infant reciprocity is related to infant/toddler development and health. However, there is a dearth of research on reciprocity variables like co-occupation and developmental variables such as infant/toddler sensory processing/preferences, and it is important to understand the biopsychosocial mediators of these relations. These include novel genetic markers like maternal oxytocin receptor single-nucleotide polymorphisms (OXTR SNPs). Therefore, this study examined whether mothers carrying risk alleles for three OXTR SNPs displayed different co-occupational behaviors with their infants and whether their infants/toddlers showed different sensory processing/preferences. Methods: Data from the Infant Development and Healthy Outcomes in Mothers Study included prenatal saliva samples assayed for OXTR SNPs, 6-month postnatal behavioral observations coded for maternal–infant co-occupations (reciprocal emotionality, physicality, and intentionality), and 10-, 14-, and 18-month postnatal, maternal-reported Infant/Toddler Sensory Profiles (classified as within or outside the majority range for low registration, sensory seeking, sensory sensitivity, and sensory avoiding). Results: Mothers with rs53576 risk allele A engaged in more frequent reciprocal emotionality, while those with rs2254298 risk allele A engaged in less frequent reciprocal emotionality but more frequent reciprocal intentionality. Mothers with rs53576 risk allele A had infants with 11 times greater odds of being outside of the majority range for sensation avoiding at 10 months old. Conclusions: The results converge with the literature supporting links between OXTR SNPs, caregiver reciprocity, and infant/toddler development but extend the findings to relatively novel constructs (caregiver–infant co-occupations and infant/toddler sensory processing/preferences).

Date Presented 03/23/24 The STAR Institute mentorship supported the participants’ confidence and ability to implement content from the training specific to assessing and treating children with sensory integration and processing differences. Primary Author and Speaker: Bryan M. Gee Additional Authors and Speakers: Sarah A. Schoen, Mim Ochsenbein, Natalie King

Date Presented 03/22/24 The mentorship and its instructional content supported clinicians in developing and validating comprehension of the content, in their professional development and assisted them in navigating opportunities and challenges in clinical practice. Primary Author and Speaker: Bryan M. Gee Additional Authors and Speakers: Sarah A. Schoen, Natalie King, Mim Ochsenbein

AIMS:In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a majority of higher education to shift content delivery formats to allow for social distancing to decrease spread of the virus. The purpose of this investigation was to discover physical therapy students' perceived impact from changing from a synchronous videoconferencing format to a more hybrid program format.METHODS:A qualitative case study design bounded by the time of switching formats due to the pandemic was chosen (March 2020 through September 2020). Physical therapy students participated in an agreement survey (n=38) and semi-structured interviews (n=12). Survey and interview data were coded and analyzed to form categories and themes of discovered perspectives.RESULTS:Students' perceived proficiency of hands-on skill was negatively affected. Cross-campus student and faculty interactions improved. Students felt changing formats would not result in detrimental effects on their overall learning nor on their career potential as physical therapists.DISCUSSION:Educators in entry-level professional physical therapy programs utilizing distance-education models should consider and adjust timing of hands-on skill instruction to match didactic content to encourage better connection and clinical application. Distance-learning educators should foster more interaction with students who may feel isolated. Interaction between distance-separated cohorts can reduce feelings of competition and inequality between campus locations and create improved learning communities.

Specific Learning Disability is an educational category within special education that identifies an impairment area such as reading, writing, or math despite a student's intelligence. Individualized Education Plan teams address learning disabilities with educational interventions and accommodations. One accommodation for students with a specific learning disability is assistive technology. Occupational therapists need evidence to inform decision-making regarding assistive technology tools to meet the individualized needs of students with learning disabilities. This case report describes how a school-based occupational therapist evaluated one student's assistive technology needs to accommodate her specific learning disability in reading and writing. This evaluation resulted in student-specific and evidence-based recommendations pertinent to age, need, and preferences. Reported outcomes include increased independence with accessing educational materials, increased access to age-appropriate reading material, and increased pleasure reading participation.

Date Presented 04/20/2023 The co-occupational constructs of shared emotionality, shared intentionality, and shared physicality provide an understanding of how co-occupation may be a valuable mechanism for evaluation and intervention. Primary Author and Speaker: Bryan M. Gee Additional Authors and Speakers: Nicki L. Aubuchon-Endsley Contributing Authors: Molly Kegley, Lauren Troy, Brittany Banh

Date Presented 04/22/2023 Low registration was stable over time, but sensory avoidance was not. Low registration is typically not a category in which a child will be physically active to self-regulate as a part of the profile. Primary Author and Speaker: Bryan M. Gee Contributing Authors: Nicki L. Aubuchon-Endsley

As of January 1, 2022, licensed occupational therapists have the permanent ability to open home health cases for the first time since 1999. This ability creates opportunities for occupational therapists to case-manage in the home health setting and showcase the benefits of occupation-based interventions for their clients. Further, occupation-based interventions create opportunities to establish aging-in-place and other cost-saving strategies. Occupational therapists will need to inform their home health agencies about this new ability, emphasizing the benefits of a more substantial presence in home health episodes of care. They will also need to develop new skills in the admission process or hone previous ones to maximize this opportunity. This article aims to provoke thought and conversation regarding the new option for occupational therapy to admit home health clients and the profession's future in this setting.

Health literacy is multidimensional and goes beyond simply education level. In addition, age, gender, race and ethnicity, social network, and income level, among other things, can contribute to the level of health literacy and affect health outcomes. Many Americans cannot make sound decisions regarding their health care because of limited health literacy, yet health literacy is rarely considered during an occupational therapy evaluation and subsequent plan of care. This manuscript informs occupational therapists on strategies to address limited health literacy by using literature and evidence.

Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) utilizes a behavioral approach to neurorehabilitation involving constraint of an unaffected upper extremity which forces the use of the affected extremity. There is substantial evidence supporting the effectiveness of CIMT among both children and adults. The purpose of this study was to explore the frequency, intensity, and duration parameters across the published clinical outcomes related to pediatric CIMT (pCIMT) among children and youth populations. A content analysis approach was used to search the following databases Google Scholar, OT seeker, American Occupational Therapy Association special interest section, Medline, EbscoHost, and Cinhal. A total of 141 studies were identified via the initial search, with 51 studies meeting inclusion criteria. The findings revealed that 100% of the studies included restraint of the non-affected upper extremity, 73% incorporated repetitive task-oriented training, but less than half prescribed home practice strategies. Further, only 34% of the studies reviewed included all three components of CIMT. Outpatient hospital clinics and home-based settings were the most utilized settings for research studies. The mean minutes per session was M = 205.53, SD = 164.99. As part of the plan of care, the duration and frequency of therapy both had similar means (~M = 3.60) and standard deviations (~SD = 1.65). There was a significant variance of hours during (SD = 139.54) and outside of therapy (SD = 130.06). The results of this study, together with other emerging evidence, can assist practitioners in prescribing dosages dependent on the setting, the pediatric client, and their current functional status.

Background: The purpose of this pediatric case report is to document how occupational therapy assisted a family with a child who has a diagnosis of ASD and the religious clergy increase the child’s participation in activities in the religious context. Method: The pediatric case report uses an exploratory approach to explore the process of evaluating challenging psychosocial behaviors and implementing contextual and personal strategies to increase participation in meaningful occupations. Results: As a result of the occupational therapy recommendations and follow-up consultations, the client demonstrated a reduction in behaviors that were a barrier to her participation in meaningful activities in a religious context. Most notably observed were reductions with verbalizations, excessive movement, verbal outbursts (high volume), wandering, and fighting. Conclusions: Occupational therapists have a role in addressing the behavioral and emotional challenges that may prevent children with ASD from participating in meaningful religious activities valued by families and their communities. The strategies recommended as a part of this case report represent strategies commonly used in the home, community, and school-based settings. However, this case pediatric report highlights the application of psychosocial/behavioral and contextual recommendations in religious contexts.

is the occupational therapist at the Colorado (CO) Mental Health Institute at Fort Logan in Denver, CO; she is also the director of the Therapeutic Activities Department.She supervises recreation therapists, creative art therapists, and occupational therapists on program development and hospital-wide initiatives.Her person-and population-centered, occupationbased OT perspective encompasses trauma-informed care, OT Intervention Process Model constructs, clinical reasoning, functional cognition, compassion, holding hope, and finding