Advocacy as an Environmental Modification: Occupational Therapy’s Role in Stigma Reduction to Increase Occupational Performance in Children with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

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.