It was an eventful weekend for members of Colorado State University’s Department of Occupational Therapy as five individuals were recognized at this year’s American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Inspire conference.
The conference, held in Orlando, Florida, brought OTs from around the country to learn, collaborate, and celebrate together in all things occupational therapy. Part of this annual conference includes recognizing the top occupational therapists in the country in an array of subjects and categories.
Two awards for Lane
One member of CSU-OT’s faculty, Shelly Lane, walked away from Orlando with two awards – the AOTF Viginia Scardina Award of Excellence and the AOTA Outstanding Mentoring Award.
The Virgina Scardina Award honors an OT who demonstrates a commitment to evidence-based practice through research that advances theory in brain-behavior relationships and/or sensory processing disorders. The Outstanding Mentoring Award recognizes an occupational therapy practitioner who has demonstrated outstanding mentoring in a sustained partnership in practice, academic, or research contexts.
Lane’s extensive career has centered on neuroscience foundations of childhood occupations and occupational challenges. She has mentored students, researchers, and practitioners for over 20 years on five continents and presented internationally, with numerous publications on sensory integration, neuroscience applications, and pediatric occupational therapy. Lane is the second CSU-OT faculty member to win the Virginia Scardina Award and the first to win the Outstanding Mentorship Award.
More faculty recognitions
Adding to the success of CSU, Kim Schoessow-Aldaz was honored as a member of the AOTA Roster of Fellows. The Roster of Fellows acknowledges AOTA occupational therapist members who have demonstrated significant contributions to the profession through their knowledge, expertise, leadership, advocacy, and guidance, impacting consumers of occupational therapy services. Schoessow-Aldaz adds to the impressive number of AOTA Fellows to come out of CSU-OT.
First-year CSU faculty member Laura Swink received the good news that she was awarded an AOTF Implementation Research Grant. The objective of the Implementation Research Grant program is to enhance individual patient outcomes and public health by promoting the effective utilization and integration of evidence-based practices. Swink will use this grant to help fund her project, Social Prescription for Loneliness in Community-based Group Exercise Classes for People with Parkinson’s Disease.
In addition, Jen Weaver’s expertise in assessment and measurement was on full display as she was a part of a five-person State of Science panel for a section of the conference titled Progress in OT Assessment: How are we measuring up? The panel discussed measurement models, defining and measuring new concepts, and demonstrating treatment effectiveness along with the challenges current measurement researchers are facing.
Slagle award
To wrap up the eventful weekend, Department Head Anita Bundy presented her much-anticipated Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecture. Her lecture, titled Bubble Wrap is for Packages, Not for People: Balancing Dignity of Risk with Duty of Care, spoke to the importance of risk-taking for clients of all ages. Bundy contends that the benefits of confronting risks outweigh the potential problems. Bundy was announced as the 2023 winner of the Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship Award at last year’s AOTA conference. CSU-OT alumni and local practitioners are invited to an encore performance of Bundy’s lecture at the upcoming OT Knowledge Exchange on April 26, 2024.
While CSU-OT has seen success at AOTA Inspire events in the past, the number of awardees combined with the significance of the Slagle Lecture truly put CSU in the spotlight this year.
The Department of Occupational Therapy is part of CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.
