A new grant awarded to the Colorado State University Department of Occupational Therapy (OT) strives to meet dual needs: supporting students with significant disabilities while diversifying the OT profession.
The Office of Special Education Programs within the U.S. Department of Education awarded a grant totaling nearly $1.25 million to CSU occupational therapy faculty Andy Persch and Patti Davies.
Their project, Occupational Therapy Preparation to Improve Services and Outcomes for School-Age Children with Disabilities who Have High-Intensity Needs (OT Prep Project), will debut its inaugural cohort in 2024 and is focused on achieving two goals: recruit and train scholars from underserved populations and focus training on school-aged students who have high-intensity needs. Upon completion of the program, scholars will be fully prepared to work with school-age children with significant cognitive, physical, and emotional disabilities such as autism, dyslexia, and cerebral palsy. Scholars will also learn to implement intensive individualized and evidence-based interventions.
The scholars and their impact
Scholars must apply and be accepted into the OT Prep Project following admission to the Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) Program. The grant will support 12-15 OT Prep Project scholars, who will complete courses, fieldwork, and capstone experiences that concentrate on school-based practice and working with students in the community with high-intensity needs. Each scholar will be awarded a stipend of nearly $38,000 which can be used in many ways including tuition, room and board, childcare, and more.
“We hope this generous stipend will attract scholars who may not have an opportunity to pursue an OT doctorate without financial aid,” said Davies.
For each year of funding provided, the scholar will be required to commit to two years of serving students with high-intensity needs upon receiving their OTD. The scholars will also be placed in community settings, such as Poudre School District schools, for their fieldwork and capstone projects.
The grant will also support curricular updates, course improvements, purchase of new materials, and seminars for both OT Prep Project scholars and the broader occupational therapy student audience.
Experts from outside the University will speak on the area of high-intensity needs and give their perspective on therapy and care.
Widespread impact
“From our earliest planning, the OT Prep Project was designed to serve the community from the inside out,” said Persch.
The OT Prep Project aligns with CSU’s land-grant mission priorities to make higher education more accessible to the community as well as fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment. The project will provide a high-quality OT education to underserved populations, such as underrepresented ethnicities, people with disabilities, and those who speak multiple languages, with the goal to diversify the field of school-based OTs. In addition, the focus on improving the care of school-aged children with high-intensity needs is significant, as these students face severe challenges in the educational system, along with a shortage of qualified personnel to assist them properly.
“We anticipate the positive impacts from the OT Prep Project will be widespread, from funding underserved scholars and improving curriculum and materials to serving school-aged students with high-intensity needs and schools in the community,” Davies said.
The Department of Occupational Therapy is a part of CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.
