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Addressing Psychosocial Barriers to Participation in People Experiencing Homelessness: An Occupational Therapy Workshop
No full textDespite the occupational therapy (OT) profession\u27s emphasis on holistic, person-centered care, many OT practitioners and students report feeling a lack of self-efficacy and preparedness to navigate the complex psychological, social, and systemic barriers that hinder occupational participation in people experiencing homelessness (PEH). This capstone project aimed to address the perceived unpreparedness among clinicians through the creation of an 8-hour interactive educational workshop aligned with Experiential Learning Theory. The content is grounded in the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) and informed by the Bridging the Transition from Homelessness: A Social Justice Framework (BTTF), trauma-informed care (TIC), harm reduction, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles. The workshop includes case studies, group activities, and discussions to build necessary skills, knowledge, and confidence for more effective, person-centered care.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonessummer2025/1019/thumbnail.jp
Virtual Reality (VR) to Enhance Occupational Therapy (OT) Sessions for Children with Developmental Delays
No full textThis capstone project developed an educational guidebook to help pediatric OTs integrate evidence-based VR strategies into practice. The guidebook was created to enhance engagement, for children with developmental delays, impacting sensory and motor skills. By exploring VR’s benefits and barriers, the project guides therapists in adapting tech-enhanced approaches to individual needs.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesfall2025/1007/thumbnail.jp
The Role of Occupational Therapy in Bladder and Bowel Management for Individuals With Spinal Cord Injuries: An Educational Video Series
Get PDFOccupational therapy (OT) practitioners are uniquely positioned to support individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) in developing effective bowel and bladder management (BBM) routines. However, most existing literature approaches BBM from a medical perspective, offering limited guidance on how to translate occupation-based strategies into OT practice. This lack of discipline-specific resources contributes to reduced confidence among generalist practitioners and hinders the consistent implementation of BBM interventions across inpatient and community settings. To address this gap, a nine-part educational video series was developed to enhance OT practitioners’ knowledge, clinical reasoning, and confidence in delivering BBM interventions for clients with SCI. The series covers foundational neurophysiology of the bowel and bladder systems, outlines OT’s distinct role in BBM, and emphasizes promoting independence and participation in toileting-related activities. Developed through literature review, clinical fieldwork observations, and collaboration with a medical supplier, the series incorporates SCI functional groupings based on hand function to guide expectations for independence and intervention planning. It also reframes the evaluation process by introducing non-standardized assessment questions that can be easily integrated into routine practice, followed by guidance on intervention planning. Recommendations for adaptive equipment and catheter types are tailored to client-specific factors and barriers. The series highlights various catheter options and introduces practical tools to support real-world carryover. Its modular, stand-alone format allows for flexible, on-demand learning. By positioning OT as a key contributor in SCI care, this project strengthens the profession’s role in BBM routines and addresses a critical gap in occupation-based literature
An App-Based Education Course Empowering Coaches to Support Neurodivergent Athletes
Get PDFNeurodivergent children face significant barriers to participation in youth sports due to a lack of coach education and inclusive practices, which limits access to the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional benefits of recreational activities. This doctoral capstone project aimed to address these barriers through the development and implementation of CoachAbility, an app-based educational course designed to equip youth sports coaches with neurodiversity-affirming approaches. The course includes interactive modules, scenario-based quizzes, and downloadable resources covering key areas such as sensory processing, communication, emotional regulation, inclusion, family collaboration, and motor skill development. Participating coaches at KidStrong Carlsbad completed the course over four weeks. Pre-course needs assessments and post-course surveys, alongside class observations, were used to evaluate program outcomes. This project highlights the value of occupational therapy-led training for community-based recreational leaders and aims to promote inclusive coaching practices that enhance access and participation for all athletes.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/1002/thumbnail.jp
Integrating Sensory Processing and Self- Regulation Strategies in Daily Teaching Practices
Get PDFThis capstone project addressed the critical need for early childhood educators to improve their understanding and application of sensory processing and self-regulation strategies within the classroom setting. The project was implemented at an early learning center and aimed to enhance educators’ ability to support student participation and occupational performance through a structured coaching framework. Guided by Dunn’s Sensory Processing Framework and the Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance (PEOP) model, the intervention included five individualized coaching sessions and the development of two key capstone products: a sensory processing coaching framework and a sensory processing toolkit and activity binder. The coaching framework incorporated observational tools, quick reference guides, and reflection surveys, while the toolkit provided practical sensory materials and classroom-specific activities organized by sensory category. Outcomes from this project suggest that when educators receive targeted support and hands-on resources, they are more equipped and confident in embedding sensory strategies into their daily routines. Despite challenges related to time constraints, varying levels of teacher engagement, and competing curricular demands, the project demonstrated the value of occupational therapy collaboration in early education. This capstone highlights important implications for OT practice and future research, including the need to evaluate the effectiveness of coaching models and toolkits, address implementation barriers, and further explore interdisciplinary approaches to enhancing sensory-supportive learning environments.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/1030/thumbnail.jp
Safe Lift System: In-Bed Repositioning Assistive Device
Get PDFBedridden patients require frequent repositioning toward the head of the bed. The current Safe Lift System prototype was revised and surveyed to address the gap in effective methods for in-bed repositioning of this patient population and to improve its efficacy in meeting the needs of bedridden patients, caregivers, and healthcare staff members.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/1041/thumbnail.jp
Researching Effective Interventions within Occupational Therapy for Individuals with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Get PDFThis research project assessed client and clinician perceptions on the effectiveness of treatment interventions for CRPS. The purpose of this research was to assess the effectiveness of interventions for CRPS as perceived by clinicians and clients to evaluate the impact on client function and overall satisfaction coping with CRPS.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/1039/thumbnail.jp
Advocacy for On-Campus Occupational Therapy in College Athletics
Get PDFThis project focuses on a growing issue in college sports: the lack of accessible, specialized rehabilitation for student-athletes. Many universities rely on off-campus providers for occupational therapy, which often leads to delays in treatment, missed appointments, and inconsistent care. To address this gap, the project advocates for the integration of occupational therapists directly into athletic departments. By developing and delivering educational workshops, distributing advocacy materials, and engaging with key stakeholders, the project highlights how on-campus OT services can streamline care, improve recovery outcomes, and support both the physical and mental well-being of student-athletes. The goal is to bring awareness to OT’s unique value in sports medicine and push for its inclusion as a standard part of collegiate athlete healthcare.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/1065/thumbnail.jp
Graded Habilitation Activities for Direct Support Professionals: An Educational Video Series
Get PDFThis capstone project was created for direct support professionals (DSPs) to have a new resource for education and training on how to properly apply the concept of graded habilitation activities based on the Allen’s cognitive levels to the DSPs sessions. This capstone project was a need in the DSP community for DSPs provide direct care to people with intellectual or development disabilities (IDD). Therefore, this capstone project supports education and training DSPs need to optimally apply graded habilitation activities, based on participants’ cognitive level, to provide optimal services for people with IDD. Problem: DSPs lack knowledge of and education/training on the creation and delivery of graded habilitation activities for people with IDD based on levels of cognitive functioning and performance skills. This can lead to DSPs providing less than optimal services to participants. Purpose: The purpose of this project was to create an educational video series for DSPs on the creation and delivery of graded habilitation activities for people with IDD based on levels of cognitive functioning. The topics covered in this paper include but are not limited to direct support professionals, people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, the Cognitive Disabilities Model, Allen’s cognitive levels, the Allen Cognitive Level Screen, occupational therapy, and graded habilitation activities. This paper also includes the video series outlines, the video series scripts, the link to each video series, and the quick response code to the video series resource.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/1070/thumbnail.jp
The Role of Occupational Therapy in Bladder and Bowel Management for Individuals With Spinal Cord Injuries: An Educational Video Series
Get PDFOccupational therapy (OT) practitioners are uniquely positioned to support individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) in developing effective bowel and bladder management (BBM) routines. However, most existing literature approaches BBM from a medical perspective, offering limited guidance on how to translate occupation-based strategies into OT practice. This lack of discipline-specific resources contributes to reduced confidence among generalist practitioners and hinders the consistent implementation of BBM interventions across inpatient and community settings. To address this gap, a nine-part educational video series was developed to enhance OT practitioners’ knowledge, clinical reasoning, and confidence in delivering BBM interventions for clients with SCI. The series covers foundational neurophysiology of the bowel and bladder systems, outlines OT’s distinct role in BBM, and emphasizes promoting independence and participation in toileting-related activities. Developed through literature review, clinical fieldwork observations, and collaboration with a medical supplier, the series incorporates SCI functional groupings based on hand function to guide expectations for independence and intervention planning. It also reframes the evaluation process by introducing non-standardized assessment questions that can be easily integrated into routine practice, followed by guidance on intervention planning. Recommendations for adaptive equipment and catheter types are tailored to client-specific factors and barriers. The series highlights various catheter options and introduces practical tools to support real-world carryover. Its modular, stand-alone format allows for flexible, on-demand learning. By positioning OT as a key contributor in SCI care, this project strengthens the profession’s role in BBM routines and addresses a critical gap in occupation-based literature.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/1077/thumbnail.jp