Faculty Members Present in Orlando!
Denise Donica Presents on Handwriting
It was the 90th Annual Conference and Expo for the American Occupational Therapy Association in Orlando from April 29th to May 2nd. Departmental faculty members were well represented in presentations, posters, and participation!
Dr. Anne Dickerson, as in the last two conferences, helped organize the AOTA pre-conference Institute CarFit Technician Training as well as the workshop to train CarFit Event Coordinators. This annual institute is well attended and for the first time had actual seniors go through the event.
Three faculty members facilitated the "short courses," 1 ½ hour presentations that are the mainstay of the conference. Dr. Jane Painter with faculty adjunct and alumni Sharon Elliot presented Living Alone And Fall Risk Factors In Community Dwelling Middle Age And Older Adults. Dr. Denise Donica and Dr. Carol Lust joined together to do a short course on Designing Intervention and Reporting Outcomes: Handwriting Without Tears Pre-k and Cursive Curriculums. Dr. Anne Dickerson worked with Tim Reistetter, Elin Schold Davis, and Robyn Ogawa to present Driving And The General Practice Occupational Therapist: What To Do. Many therapists at the conference attended all three courses.
Jane Painter and Sharon Elliot
Carol Lust and Denise Donica presented a short course
We were also well represented with posters! Dr. Denise Donica presented her dissertation project in a poster: Handwriting Instruction: The History Behind the Occupation. Dr. Jane Painter and Sharon Elliot shared a poster: The Influence of Gender on Falls Among Community-Dwelling Adults 50 Years of Age and Over.
Dr. Mike Bradley and Dr. Anne Dickerson presented a poster about theories: Occupational Therapy Theories - The Link Between Education And Practice. Always most exciting was the poster with the work of graduate students. Dr. Anne Dickerson helped achieve this with the poster: A Simple Reaction Time Tester: Test/retest Reliability which included the authorship of Tim Reistetter and students Angela Brake, Laurel Mann, and Letica Hernandez.
Finally, Dr. Leonard Trujillo presented An Introduction To Using The Pulse Smart Pen With High Functioning Children On The Autism Spectrum at the "Tech Day" on Saturday, May 1st.
The World Federation of Occupational Therapy Meets in Chile!
Easter Island Moai Anne Dickerson presenting Anne with Sylvi from Finland
Santiago, Chile was the setting for the 15th WFOT Congress on May 4-7, 2010. It was a gathering of some 2000 occupational therapists from around the world to discuss, present, and network with colleagues on critical issues for the profession. The Congress meets every four years so it is a unique opportunity. Dr. Anne Dickerson presented a paper titled "Evaluating Driving as a Valued Instrumental Activity of Daily Living" on Wednesday, May 5th along with only about 250 scheduled papers. Dr. Dickerson also was able to spend some time seeing other parts of Chile with occupational therapists from Finland, Israel, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and Australia.
Southern Gerontological Society Annual Conference
The Occupational Therapy Department was well represented at the 31st Annual Meeting of the Southern Geronotological Society's meeting in Richmond, Virginia on April 7-10, 2010. Most exciting was the presentation of two posters by graduate students who attended!
Beth Faircloth and Lindsie Webster
Beth Faircloth and Lindsie Webster presented a poster titled “Community Action Through Conference Participation” in which they described the importance of occupational therapists presenting in conferences that foster to individuals with disabilities.
Lindsie Webster and Lesley Evans
Lesley Evans and Lindsie Webster showcased their research project work with a poster describing the Transportation Guide, a guide that occupational therapists can use to assist with finding alternative modes of transportation for older adults who can no longer drive.
Linda Miller and Jane Painter
Dr. Jane Painter presented with Linda Miller on “Promotion of Community Engagement through Dissemination of Matter of Balance throughout North Carolina.” Linda works for the Centralina Area Agency on Aging and works with Jane in promoting this fall prevention program.
Jim Mitchell and Beth Velde
Dr. Beth Velde presented with SGA's President Jim Mitchell on "The Engagement and Outreach Scholars Academy, A Method for Enbedding the Scholarship of Engagement in a University Culture."
Dr. Anne Dickerson
Finally, Dr. Anne Dickerson presented the research she has done in collaboration with her thesis student, Jennifer Gaudy. The presentation was titled "Assessing the Rick of IADL Tasks from the Perspective of the Medically-at-Risk Older Adults and their Caregivers." The work is a continuing and will be completed this summer.
