Student Voice
Page 14
Allison Sweeney, OTS
Exposing a Need for Occupational Therapy in a Postsecondary Education Setting
As a part of our Fieldwork I experience at Elmhurst College, we had the opportunity to collaborate with organizations on campus to address potential areas of need for occupational therapy intervention. Two of the organizations— the Access and Disability Services Center( ADS) and the Elmhurst Learning and Success Academy( ELSA)— work with students with physical and / or intellectual disabilities to facilitate access to the campus environment and the overall curriculum. In working with students involved in ADS and ELSA, we identified a need within this population for occupational therapy services. A thorough review of existing literature revealed that there has been a 24 % increase in students with learning disabilities entering postsecondary education( HEATH Resource Center, 2001). According to the US Department of Education( 2000), there is a significant discrepancy amongst graduation rates between students who have an intellectual disability and those that do not. Only 21.6 % of students with a learning disability graduate with a bachelor’ s degree, whereas individuals without a reported disability have a 37 % graduation rate. The difference in theses outcomes supports the demand for postsecondary education institutions to reevaluate how institutions of higher learning address the needs of this population. The difference in outcomes necessitates that college personnel better understand the learning needs of individuals with learning disabilities attending college, in an effort to support students with learning disabilities academic success in postsecondary education( Raskind, 1994).
Considering the existing literature on this topic, we believe that occupational therapy could intervene on this platform in a number of ways. Specifically, through implementation of assistive technology, staff education and training, and advocacy for the students, as methods of achieving optimal access to the curriculum in a college setting. Assistive technology that can be introduced by occupational therapy practitioners to aid in access to classroom material while complying to the Americans with Disabilities Act, include voice synthesizers, assistive listening devices, open and closed captioning decoders, talking calculators and videotext displays( US Department of Education, 1998). Additional resources that can be utilized are spell check, speech to text applications, speech control tape recorders, data managers and listening aides. Providing these supports facilitates participation in academics and future employment with increased independence and self-empowerment. The partnership and collaboration of occupational therapists and education professionals with students with intellectual disabilities in a postsecondary setting would promote a more holistic and client-centered approach that aims to enhance overall life satisfaction.
The literature review exposed a gap in occupational therapy services for the postsecondary education population. At this year’ s annual AOTA Conference in Philadelphia, I had the incredible opportunity to attend a lecture by AOTA President, Amy Lamb. Dr. Lamb spoke a great deal about the relevance of emerging practice areas with the coming of the occupational therapy centennial. Specifically, she discussed the new vision for 2025:“ Occupational therapy maximizes health, well-being, and quality of life for all people, populations, and communities through effective solutions that facilitate participation in everyday living.”( AOTA, 2017). She discussed the need to expand our reach as a profession and advocate for ourselves in order to display our distinct value in emerging practice areas.
Our research at Elmhurst College has revealed a potential emerging practice area for occupational therapy practitioners for the postsecondary education population. As members of the campus community, we feel a strong sense of passion and commitment to ensuring that the needs of this population are met, by emphasizing the role occupational therapy could play in assisting this population in achieving full access to
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