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Empowering Independence for Young Adults with Disabilities
Grace Sloan and Wendy Tremaine
Young adults with disabilities often face challenges in maintaining and finding employment, living independently, and participating socially. The purpose of this capstone project was to develop a program to enhance job readiness, independent living, and social participation skills for young adults with disabilities. This project highlighted the need for occupation-based activities to support the transition from high school to adulthood for young adults with disabilities.
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Unleashing Potential: Educating OT Practitioners on Animal-Assisted Therapy for Children with CP
Karley B. Smith and Lakeisa Boykin
The purpose of this capstone project is to develop and evaluate the efficacy of an animal-assisted therapy educational package for occupational therapy practitioners treating children with cerebral palsy. This educational package serves as an adjunctive occupational therapy service to address the ongoing need for engaging, holistic interventions that support motor development and participation. The primary focus of this project is practitioner education and training to promote safe, structured, and clinically sound integration of animal-assisted therapy into occupational therapy practice. The methods for this project included a literature review, informal needs assessment, development of an educational package, QR code video demonstrations, and an educational presentation. Participants included occupational therapy practitioners at an outpatient pediatric clinic in Georgia.
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Supporting Mental Health Through Occupation: Education for Women Living with and Beyond Breast Cancer
Rebekah Nicole Trammell, Lakeisa Boykin, and Rebekah Jarrar
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the United States, and these women experience high rates of anxiety, depression, and disruption to daily routines and meaningful occupations. Evidence shows that education on self-management strategies, mindfulness-based interventions, and targeted occupational therapy interventions can support the mental health of women experiencing breast cancer. Furthermore, remaining engaged in meaningful occupations is essential to improving overall well-being and quality of life. The purpose of this capstone project was to develop and deliver accessible, evidence-based education in digital and print formats that specifically target identifying mental health challenges, self-management strategies, and increased engagement in meaningful occupations. This was achieved by creating an educational workbook with four key modules, along with in-person discussion sessions with the target population in Northeast Florida.
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Breaking Barriers: Empowering Mothers Through Occupation-Based Education
Jessica J. Valencia, Justine Faghihifar, and Wendy Tremaine
This capstone project evaluated the implementation of an occupational therapy-informed educational program for mothers, with children under the age of 18, who have experienced intimate partner violence at Genesis Women's Shelter & Support. The purpose of the project was to promote occupational engagement through education focused on stress management, sleep and rest, routines and habits, memory and attention, parenting and communication, and leisure participation. A needs assessment informed the development of a six-week bilingual intervention consisting of group and individual sessions. Program outcomes were evaluated using pre- and post-intervention assessments, participant feedback, and clinical observations. The project demonstrated improvements in participants' perceived occupational competence and confidence across multiple areas of daily life while providing Genesis with a sustainable program manual and educational resources for future implementation.
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