9319 research outputs found
Sort by
Inclusive SpOrTs Environments: Youth Gymnastics Coaches’ Perceptions on Promoting Inclusivity for Autistic Athletes
Get PDFBackground: Despite the positive physical, psychological, and social benefits of sports, children with disabilities participate in sports at a lower rate than their typically developing peers. Partnerships between occupational therapists and youth sports providers can facilitate inclusive sports environments that enable equitable access to sports for all children.
Purpose: The purpose of the Capstone Project was to explore youth gymnastics coaches’ perceptions on inclusive sports participation following an educational module.
Theoretical Framework. The occupational justice framework (Townsend & Wilcock, 2004) guided the development of the project through the view that equitable participation in preferred occupations is an individual right.
Methods. A qualitative descriptive approach was utilized with convenience sampling occurring through online platforms. Included participants completed an educational module prior to completing a semi-structured interview. Interviews were transcribed and coded prior to the determination of themes with triangulation and member checking employed.
Results. Thematic analysis resulted in the following themes: (1) occupational engagement in sports benefits both neurodiverse and neurotypical children, (2) sociocultural and physical environments create barriers to autistic youth’s participation in sports, and (3) grace and knowledge enhance coaches’ ability to promote inclusive occupational participation in sports for autistic youth. Themes were representative of the interconnected occupational components impacting inclusive sports of which occupational therapists are poised to address.
Conclusions: Lack of participation in sports for all children and children with disabilities is a complex system of physical, social, psychological, cultural, and environmental elements. Occupational therapists are equipped to educate youth sports providers and advocate for inclusive sports programs to facilitate equitable sports participation and health and wellness for children
The Professional Development Series: A Path for Achieving Career-Focused Learning Outcomes
Get PDFEastern Kentucky University’s College of Business proactively responded to the well-documented student need for developing professional skills by creating a series of courses that provide the critical skills needed for success throughout their careers. The implementation and content of these courses are described, as well as preliminary indicators of their impact
Occupational Therapy Assistant Students’ Perceptions of using Standardized Patient Encounters as a Replacement for Traditional Level I Fieldwork
Get PDFStandardized patient encounters are being utilized more often in occupational therapy education as a replacement for traditional fieldwork. While there is a growing body of research to support the use of this model in developing student skillsets and confidence, there remains limited information on the topic, and no studies which look at its use with occupational therapy assistant students. Twenty-four occupational therapy assistant students participated in standardized patient encounters which served as a replacement for traditional Level I fieldwork. All students completed an anonymous supplementary course evaluation regarding their experiences. A secondary analysis of the data looked at their perceptions of a standardized patient encounter model for fieldwork and how it did or did not prepare them for future Level II clinicals. Quantitative and qualitative data exposed aspects of these experiences which students found to be most and least effective. Overall, data showed moderate support for use of standardized patient encounters to support student confidence and skills in anticipation of Level II fieldwork. The student perception of these types of experiences is influenced by environmental (e.g., structure) and personal (e.g., student personality) factors. Success requires adequate preparation of all involved parties. Use of standardized patient encounters should be researched further to determine its impact on fieldwork performance evaluation scores and future employment
Book Review: The Path to Private Practice
Get PDFThe Path to Private Practice: A Roadmap for Speech-Language Pathologists and Occupational Therapists Considering Private Practice (Castro-Casbon, 2023) invites clinicians to consider the benefits of entrepreneurship. The book discusses concerns in the medical and educational systems that may cause occupational therapists (OTs) and speech and language pathologists (SLPs) to experience burnout. The text encourages the reader to consider entering into part-time private practice. Though the book is authored by a SLP, the concerns and strategies discussed in the book are easily compatible with the OT profession. This review details the content of the individual chapters and offers a critical analysis of the work and of the free supplemental materials. Paid online materials which are frequently mentioned in the text are not included in this review. Private practice and business literacy are hot-button issues within the OT profession including numerous continuing education offerings at national conferences and inspirational articles from national organizations. Educators will benefit from knowing the strengths and gaps in this widely available text so that they can determine if it is appropriate to use in classroom or continuing education instruction
Clinical Challenges and Experiences: Shared Knowledge From Mental Health Clinicians
Get PDFThough there is an extensive need for mental health practitioners of child and adolescent psychology, there tends to be a significantly lower number of these providers compared to adult clinicians. For this reason, this study sought to provide emerging child and adolescent clinicians with a point of clinical reference to allow for more efficient and competent services to be provided. This was accomplished by increasing the reader’s foundational knowledge of child and adolescent treatment via a brief historical review, while also increasing the reader’s clinical knowledge/readiness by examining participant reported interventions/insights on the most commonly encountered therapy interfering behaviors, clinical concerns, and the associated resources/interventions used to address them. The product of this study provides the reader with tip sheets and resource lists that will serve as a quick reference of the accumulated skills and knowledge shared by the clinician participants. These tip sheets and resource lists are intended to serve as topic guides to spur the reader’s own exploration and research as it pertains to their own clinical practice
Voicing Experience: Learning About and Understanding the Latina Experience in the United States through Coming-of-Age Literature
Get PDFThis thesis analyzes the works of Latina female authors from the United States of America in the coming-of-age genre and how the themes addressed in the novels provide readers with insight into what aspects of the Latino culture in the United States affect the decisions Latina women make when it comes to deciding whether to pursue higher education. The thesis examines three novels by Latina authors from the United States in the coming-of-age genre. These novels include The House on Mango Street, The Poet X , and I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. It discusses themes such as gender roles, sexuality, and familism and how the reactions of the Latina protagonists in each of the novels reflect the sentiments of Latina women in real life. These reactions can be taken into consideration when postulating the reasoning behind the lower rate of Latina women receiving bachelor\u27s degrees in the United States compared to the rate of women of different ethnicities
State Solutions to Human Trafficking: A Critical Backbone in Combating the Tragedy
Get PDFThis honors thesis paper provides an overview of human trafficking in the United States and the states’ roles for addressing the problem. It starts off by describing the background behind human trafficking, including the typical victims, perpetrators, and the locations where victims are found. In order to better understand the context of state solutions, the next section describes the current federal government’s anti-human trafficking efforts as that is important to better understand state roles and responsibilities. This section includes the current enacted laws and legislatures, victim services, awareness programs, intelligence sharing and investigation agencies, and funding. The state section includes an overview of the same categories using Kentucky, California, and Florida as case studies. Finally, the paper concludes with recommendations to the state�level efforts, including interstate compacts, intelligence fusion center operations, education opportunities, state department of transportation awareness efforts, non�governmental organizations, and partnerships. Included in the appendices are four federal policy options to help address the issue, as well as the utilization of structured analytic techniques that helped to reach a conclusion of which policy option would be most successful upon implementation. It is the hope that this paper can spread awareness about the issues of human trafficking, resulting in compensation for victims, due justice iii for perpetrators, greater funding and more dedicated resources for anti-trafficking efforts, and eventually an end to the tragedy
Effects of Acute Pain with Cold Water Limb Submersion on Cognitive Performance of Simple Span Tasks
Get PDFPushing through aches and pain is a ritual for many. It is often overlooked that pain is a physical as well as mental phenomenon. It is well established that chronic pain increasingly affects performance the longer the duration and the higher the intensity. Performance in acute pain is less established for complex and simple span tasks. Previous research suggests only complex tasks are negatively affected by painful stimuli. This study seeks to confirm previous literature on complex span tasks and test if simple span tasks are affected by performance and pain intensities. 34 participants completed either the digit span test (DGS) for the simple span task or the paced auditory serial addition test (PASAT) for the complex span task. Ice was used as the painful stimulus. Results indicate improvements in PASAT performance in ice due to learning effects, with a slight decrease in performance on the DGS. Pain for the PASAT and DGS increased incrementally, with the DGS climbing pain ratings faster. Higher performance correlated to lower pain in the PASAT, whereas higher performance correlated to higher pain in the DGS. There were no gender differences in performance. These results suggest the PASAT utilizes more cognitive resources. A larger computerized study is needed to remove human error and expand our understanding of what affects the mechanisms of storage and processing information for better transfer to long-term memory
Factors Associated with First-Year Student Retention in Higher Education: A Quantitative Analysis of Student Confidence and Use of Support Services on Persistence and Success
Get PDFThis quantitative study investigated factors influencing first-year student retention at a midsized regional comprehensive university. Using archival data from the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 academic years, the research examined the retention rates of Standard Admit students and conditionally admitted Success First students. The study explored student retention based on use of available support services, namely visits to the campus Student Success Center (SSC), as well as measures of cognitive and non-cognitive skills and confidence as assessed through a standardized nationally normed assessment tool. Additionally, it identified key demographic variables such as gender, race, Pell Grant eligibility, and first-generation status that impact retention. The findings revealed that Standard Admit students had higher retention rates than Success First students, while student check-ins at the SSC were not significantly associated with increased retention for Success First students. Cognitive and noncognitive skills like organization and time management, as well as personal and financial health, were positively correlated with retention. These insights underscore the importance of early academic and non-academic interventions to improve retention, particularly for at-risk student populations. Recommendations include refining institutional support systems, tailoring interventions to meet the needs of individual students and unique student populations, and addressing demographic challenges to enhance retention outcomes
Full of Hunger
No full textFull of Hunger is a three-part collection of interlinked stories—each part originally anchored by one protagonist, but has evolved, with the help of sub-characters giving glimpses of their own stories while furthering those of others, into a polyphonic telling of multiple relationships and experiences. From each character’s story comes their own first-person perspective, as well as the perspectives of others around them, to show their complexities as they struggle with internal family issues, outside forces of poverty and addiction, a sense of identity and belonging as first-born Americans from Portuguese immigrants, and an overall sense of morality