Browsing by Author "Klukken, Angela"

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    Advocacy as an Environmental Modification: Occupational Therapy’s Role in Stigma Reduction to Increase Occupational Performance in Children with Learning Disabilities
    (2022-05) Klukken, Angela; Petrenchik, Terry; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Petrenchik, Terry
    Occupational therapists have a pivotal role in advocating for their clientele across various settings. The present study adds direction and suggestion for enhancing occupational therapy’s role in client advocacy, through the use of therapeutic skills utilized in teacher training to reduce the harmful effects of disability-based stigma for children with learning disabilities in a public elementary school setting. The author suggests that stigma reduction may serve as a powerful environmental modification; as disability accommodations and self-advocacy alone do not always permit equitable occupational participation. Teacher training in the area of pediatric learning disabilities with an emphasis on bias reduction, information, empathy, self-reflection and interpretation of anonymous student school experiences was implemented in a public elementary school by an occupational therapy doctoral capstone student. Medium effect sizes were found among some aspects of psychological flexibility with regard to stigmatizing thoughts among teachers. Significant results were found among students answering questions in class, and teachers’ awareness and ability to identify learning disabilities in their students. Results suggest that teachers were overall satisfied with training and have implemented changes in support of learning disability accessibility in their classrooms following intervention.
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    Rapid Systematic Review of Occupational Therapy-Adaptable Interventions to Improve Social Engagement in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder
    (2020-08-27) Alexander, Joelyn; Gordon, Madeline; Heydon, Mallory; Klukken, Angela; Moring, Kelly; Nguyen, Elizabeth; Chase, Anthony; Petrenchik, Terry; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences
    In this rapid systematic review, we describe how evidence-based interventions aiming to improve social engagement in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be potentially adapted to be included within the scope of occupational therapy. Children and adolescents with ASD often experience difficulty with social engagement, impacting overall social participation and other aspects of daily life. It is important to address this issue within this population to ensure engagement in the occupation of social participation, which is vital to optimal health and well-being. We discovered several themes including communication, joint attention, peer engagement, social skills, and play as outcomes addressed within the interventions included in this review. There is limited research available regarding social engagement interventions for children and adolescents with ASD directly including an occupational therapist within the intervention. This review demonstrates that there is a large variety of social engagement interventions that could be implemented by occupational therapists; however, therapists must be mindful of choosing an intervention that is specific to the client's condition. There is strong evidence to suggest that interventions targeting social engagement in children and adolescents with ASD result in increased social abilities. Further research should be conducted assessing the implementation of these interventions by occupational therapists to ensure generalizability.