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Latest Episodes:

My OT Journey (Episode 83) Mar 06, 2020

Show notes

Robin Akselrud, OTD, OTR/L, is an occupational therapist with fifteen years of experience in a variety of clinical practice areas. As a certified early intervention provider, she has worked in several treatment settings, including schools, home care for medically fragile infants and children, and hand therapy and splinting for infants and toddlers. In addition to her clinical work, Robin was an Assistant Professor/Academic Fieldwork Coordinator in the Master's level OT program at Hofstra University from 2017-2019 and recently joined the BS/MS program at LIU-Brooklyn as an Assistant Professor. Robin has also served as an adjunct professor at LIU, York-CUNY and at Touro College for the past seven years.
In 2011, Robin founded an OT outpatient facility, Forward OT PLLC, for both children and adults in Brooklyn. In 2018, Robin also established the OT program at a primary care facility for an underserved community in Williamsburg, Brooklyn- ParCare Community Network. She is also a consultant for The Lighthouse Guild and recently co-authored an AOTA online CEU course focusing on treatment of vision deficits in children. Robin is currently the Leadership and Management Coordinator for the AOTA Home and Community Health Special Interest Section. Robin has presented her research at the 2018 AOTA conference in Salt Lake City and at the 2018 AOTA Education Summit in Louisville. Her publications include “Advocating for Occupational Therapy in Preparation for the Patient Driven Groupings Model”, SIS Quarterly Practice Connections, 2019, 4(2), 14-17 and “The value of home health occupational therapy practitioners in home modifications,” SIS Quarterly Practice Connections,2019, 4(1), 17–19. Dr. Akselrud holds a Master of Science from Touro College in Bay Shore, NY and a Doctor of Occupational Therapy from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT.
Robin recently started the Ask the Therapists program and a student-run podcast called My OT Journey podcast. She is currently writing two books geared towards OT students and new grads to be published in 2020. For more information and to find out connect with Robin, visit the podcast website at www.ontheair.us

Vibrant Palette: Bringing Art into Occupational Therapy (Episode 82) Mar 02, 2020

Show notes

Diane Knoll, OTR/L, is an occupational therapist who works as the founder and director of Vibrant Palette Arts Center, a non-profit visual arts day program for adults with disabilities in the city of Seattle. With 15 years of experience working in both school settings and pediatric therapy clinics, delivering quality care to clients ages three through adulthood, Diane enjoys working with clients who have self-regulation challenges, sensory processing differences, fine motor delays, and dysgraphia. She specializes in the use of creative approaches to encourage engagement and increased independence with clients.
Diane is currently the only therapist with a specialty certification in the Size Matters Handwriting Program in Washington State. She recently started a consulting company that specializes in providing sensory support for all ages in clients' natural environments, Cascadia Therapy Services. To find out how to connect with Diane, visit the podcast website at www.ontheair.us

Primitive Reflex Integration (Episode 81) Mar 01, 2020

Show notes

Kokeb Girma McDonald, OTR/L, is a pediatric occupational therapist, the founder of Polaris Therapy, an online parent and service provider coach, and a best-seller author to Integrating Primitive Reflexes Through Play and Exercise: An Interactive Guide to the Moro Reflex for Parents, Teachers, and Service Providers. She has 15+ years hands-on experience working with children from diverse background and with various diagnoses. Kokeb recently created an online course and wrote a book to teach parents and service providers a step-by-step home and classroom playful exercises, which can be implemented in less than 10 minutes a day to help improve a child's development. For more information about Kokeb's book and to find out how to connect with Kokeb, visit the podcast website at www.ontheair.us

Intergenerational Relationships (Episode 80) Feb 14, 2020

Show notes

Research tells us that many older adults wish they could spend more time with people other than those their own age, and it also indicates that there are benefits to both younger people and older adults when those in the two groups interact and form relationships. On this episode of On The Air, two occupational therapy students from Quinnipiac University, Michelle Zubko and Julia Kowal, share about their experience residing at the Pond Ridge Assisted Living community through the Student in Residence program at Masonicare at Ashlar Village in Wallingford, Connecticut.
For more information including how to connect with Michelle and Julia, visit the podcast website at www.ontheair.us

The Role of Occupational Therapy in Addressing Sex & Intimacy (Episode 79) Jan 31, 2020

Show notes

Kathryn Ellis, OTR, OTD, is the CEO and founder of the Institute for Sex, Intimacy and Occupational Therapy, which offers continuing education services for occupational therapy professionals and client services for sexuality counseling. Kathryn is a Doctor of Occupational Therapy and an AASECT certified sexuality counselor. Her mission is to dismantle restrictive norms related to sexuality and intimacy which limit occupational therapists and clients so that all individuals can thrive as sexual beings. On this episode, we talk about the role of occupational therapy in addressing sex and intimacy. For more information, resources and recommendations mentioned on the episode, and a discount code for an online class offered by Kathryn, go to www.OnTheAir.us

Making a Career Change to Occupational Therapy as an Adult (Episode 78) Jan 17, 2020

Show notes

Helen Valencia is an occupational therapist who was born in Colombia and migrated to the U.S. at age 7. Helen grew up in Queens, NY, and earned an undergraduate degree from Queens College. She worked in advertisement sales for A&E TV and then worked for the United Nations as a staff assistant in two different offices, the last one being the office of the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.
Dissatisfied with what she calls "the office life," Helen began a journey of self-discovery to help her figure out what was next in her career path. After a year of self-reflection, she learned about OT and, as she says, the rest is history.
Helen graduated from OT school at Stony Brook University. She co-founded a non-profit called Project InReach which funded self-development/leadership workshops given to adults in Colombia. She also worked as a translator in Suffolk county at IEP meetings during OT school. Helen recently moved with her husband to New Hampshire and is here in the studio today to talk about leading as an introvert, making a career switch as an adult, mindfulness and motivation.

Research-based Strategies for Teaching & Learning (Episode 77) Jan 03, 2020

Show notes

Kripa Sundar, PhD, is an independent researcher and a learning detective. As a cognitive scientist and leader in the field of education and educational research, Kripa earned her doctorate in educational psychology with an emphasis on instructional strategies, with and without multimedia. She managed the Course of Mind project from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) as their Learning Science Specialist, following which she did a stint as an adjunct professor at Washington State University. Currently, her focus is geared towards getting her own initiative - Learning Incognito - up and going.
On this episode, Kripa discusses the research she and her colleagues have conducted as well as research done in the field of cognitive science over the past 30+ years. We talk about how the strategies uncovered in her work can be used by OT students, practitioners, and educators to aid in the teaching and learning process.
To access the resources shared on this episode and to see how to connect with Kripa, go to www.ontheair.us

Bringing an Idea for a Product to Fruition (Episode 76) Dec 28, 2019

Show notes

Meghan Fox is the lead occupational therapist in a school district in Southern California where she lives with her with husband, two sons, and dog. A Midwest transplant, Meghan attended the University of Illinois-Champaign for her undergraduate educate where she earned a Bachelors of Science in kinesiology before moving to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California for her Masters in Occupational Therapy. Meghan and her family like parks and beaches and enjoy going to Disneyland, and she and her husband have aspirations for their sons to see the world.
On this episode, Meghan introduces her product WooTape which she developed as a result of her work as an OT. She discusses her drive for achievement that led to her quest for entrepreneurship and shares tips for people interested in following a similar path. For more information about WooTape and to connect with Meghan, visit the podcast website at www.ontheair.us

The Able Fables (Episode 74) Dec 06, 2019

Show notes

Today's guest is an OT who's kind of a big deal on social media these days. Nicole Julia, OTR/L, OTD, - the mastermind behind the social media sensation, the Able Fables - holds a clinical doctorate in occupational therapy from Belmont Univ. in Nashville, TN. In addition to being an OT, Nicole is a self-described lover of people and a believer in a more inclusive, universally designed world - and now she's a book author as well.
She has started an inclusive movement and a children’s picture book series telling stories, through fables, of love and ability. Through the series she named The Able Fables, she embarked on a beautiful, non-traditional OT journey that highlights the benefits of the community-based practice aspect of occupational therapy! Nicole currently live in Nashville with her husband, Jordan - she just got married last week!
On this episode, Nicole discusses how and why she started The Able Fables and how she gives back through her work. She talks about the first book in the series, Gary's Gigantic Dream, shares about her own gigantic dreams! Nicole's website and her book both launched on Nov. 24, 2019. For more information, visit the podcast website at www.ontheair.us

A Community of Practice for People Interested in Certified Hand Therapy (Episode 73) Nov 22, 2019

Show notes

Hoang ("Wong") Tran - a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) and the owner of Hands-on Therapy Services and the online community of practice CHT Secrets - has been practicing as an OT for about 20 years. She started Hands-on Therapy Services about 6 years ago in an effort to help more people with hand and arm injuries be more active and pain free while avoiding pills, injections, and surgery. As a CHT, she also helps a lot of people after surgery get the best possible outcome.
Hoang has always been in education in one form or another; when she started her private practice, she saw a need to create a community for OT's that want to specialize in hand therapy. Through the community she has established since through CHT Secrets, she seeks to provide coaching and mentorship for others who want to navigate the specialty practice area of hand therapy.
Hoang's YouTube Channel and her Instagram page can be found by searching CHT Secrets or by visiting the podcast website, www.ontheair.us, where you can also find out how to connect with her.

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