University of Kansas Occupational Therapy Education

06/02/2026

🎉 We are incredibly proud to reshare this exciting recognition and send a huge congratulations to Lauren Foster, OTD, OTR/L on this well-deserved honor! 👏✨ Dr. Foster’s dedication to the occupational therapy profession, passion for teaching, leadership, and unwavering commitment to students and colleagues make a lasting impact every day. 💙 She consistently goes above and beyond to support our department, contribute to the growth of our programs, and advance the profession in meaningful ways.

Dr. Foster brings an incredible level of care, energy, and expertise to everything she does, and her contributions to our department do not go unnoticed. 🌟 We are extremely fortunate and grateful to have her on our team. 🙌 Please join us in congratulating Lauren on this outstanding and well-earned achievement! 🎊🏆

Lauren Foster, OTD/OTR/L, clinical associate professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy Education and director of the post-professional OTD program, received the 2026 Stata Norton Distinguished Teaching Award during the KU School of Health Professions Hooding and Recognition Ceremony on May 16.

The award recognizes a faculty member for an enthusiastic commitment to teaching, effectively imparting knowledge to students and making outstanding contributions to their profession. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Foster for this recognition!

05/28/2026

05/22/2026

Exciting publication news! 🎉📚

Congratulations to Lauren Trent, MOT, OTR/L and Caitlin Lisk, Ph.D. and on their recent publication in the journal Prosthetics and Orthotics International!

This narrative review was completed by Lauren as a focused scholarship project, in support of her dissertation work, through the Therapeutic Science PhD program. It was written in collaboration with and mentored by Caitlin. The article examines qualitative studies conducted in the United States exploring the experiences of individuals with upper and/or lower limb loss.

Their review identified several important themes that were consistent across participant experiences and highlighted a significant gap in the literature — there remains a limited amount of qualitative research focused on this specialized population. This work contributes to a growing understanding of patient experiences and the importance of continued research in rehabilitation and limb loss care. 👏

Read the article here: https://journals.lww.com/poijournal/fulltext/9900/experiences_in_rehabilitation_for_individuals_with.431.aspx

05/22/2026

CHAMPS Achievers is an adaptive, community-based karate program for children and adults with varying ability levels. The purpose of CHAMPS is to provide participants with an inclusive environment where they can exercise, build social connections, and learn self-defense techniques. CHAMPS is a valuable service-learning site for first-year students because it provides hands-on experience adapting activities, working with the IDD population, and developing leadership and teaching skills. A special thank you to Senseis Jeff Radel and Jim Berger for their continued support of our OT students!

A quote from the OT students placed at CHAMPS this year:

“I’m so grateful I was placed at CHAMPS; it gave me firsthand experience adapting activities and promoting participation. Throughout the year, we developed real connections with the participants, and it was the highlight of my first year of OT school.” - Destiny Bergstresser

"CHAMPS has been an unbelievable experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. It has shown me that growth doesn't always come from big moments, but the small ones too. The participants were amazing every week, and I will cherish those interactions forever.” - Aaron Chen

“I have learned so much from my time at CHAMPS and it is truly an experience I will always value. The connections I have built with the participants are so special to me. Going to CHAMPS every week was the confirmation I needed to know that I am in the right field." - Emma Teply

05/21/2026

🥳Congratulations to Dr. Alice Zhang on recently presenting the iKanEat Autism project at the 2026 International Society for Autism Research conference! This poster explored parent and clinician perspectives on feeding challenges in autism, with the goal of informing more effective and accessible parent training approaches for feeding interventions.

Co-authors on the project included Wafaa Alduraidi, MSOT and Lauren Foster, OTD, OTR/L. We are excited to see this important work contributing to the advancement of autism and feeding intervention research!

05/20/2026

🥳🙌Congratulations to Sara Shoubaki (TS Ph.D. student), Katharine O’Connor (PPOTD student), Hannah Smith (TS Ph.D. student), Lisa Mische Lawson, Ph.D., CTRS, FDRT, and Caitlin Lisk, Ph.D., adjunct professor, on being accepted to present a poster at the Kansas Occupational Therapy Association (KOTA) conference. Their poster is titled, “Service Learning and Sustainability: A Qualitative Inquiry into Site Mentor Perspectives.”

This project originated from the OTD Qualitative Research course taught by Dr. Lisk last fall. Through the project, students interviewed OT service-learning partners to better understand their perspectives on the sustainability and impact of these collaborative programs. The experience provided valuable hands-on qualitative research training while also fostering meaningful collaboration between PPOTD and TS Ph.D. students.

05/19/2026

🙌😁We had the privilege of celebrating our OTDE, PPOTD, and TS Ph.D. graduates this past weekend. Years of hard work, dedication, and perseverance came to fruition as these students crossed the stage and began the next chapter of their journeys. We cannot wait to see the impact they will make in the lives of so many through their leadership, compassion, scholarship, and service.

A special thank you to Hannah Earley for delivering an inspiring graduation address and sharing words of encouragement with our graduates, and to Dean Akinwuntan for providing the opening remarks. We always look forward to hearing from our alumni and dean as they help celebrate and inspire the next generation of professionals.

Congratulations, Class of 2026! 🎓

05/16/2026

Congratulations to Wafaa Alduraidi, MSOT, on the publication of her article in Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics! 🎉

“Parent-Mediated Responsive Feeding Therapy for Tube Weaning in Children with Neurodevelopmental Conditions: A Comparative Case Series” highlights the impact of family-centered feeding interventions for children with neurodevelopmental conditions and their families.

This publication is part of Wafaa’s dissertation work and was completed in collaboration with her mentor, Alice Zhang, PhD, BCBA-D, LBA-KS, along with Lauren Foster, OTD, OTR/L, and Heidi Moreland, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, CLC.

Read the article here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/WVDCGWS72WA2ZBIAMEMP/full?target=10.1080/01942638.2026.2660905

We are proud to celebrate this meaningful contribution to pediatric occupational therapy and feeding intervention research! 👏

To compare outcomes of parent-mediated Responsive Feeding Therapy (RFT) in three young children with neurodevelopmental conditions and longstanding gastrostomy tube (G-tube) dependence.This retrosp...

05/15/2026

Please join us in congratulating Erica Bates on successfully defending her dissertation proposal and passing her oral comprehensive exam on April 21st! 🎉

With this accomplishment, Erica is now officially a doctoral candidate in the Therapeutic Science program. She has been approved to begin her dissertation research titled: “Scale Development to Assess Community Integration of Persons with Brain Injury After CMS Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Settings Rule.”

Erica’s dissertation committee includes Dr. Lisa Mische Lawson (Chair), Dr. Alice Zhang, Dr. Caitlin Lisk, Dr. Janet Williams, and Dr. Bruce Frey.

This is an incredible milestone and a testament to Erica’s dedication, scholarship, and passion for advancing research in therapeutic science. Congratulations, Erica — we are excited to see the impact of your work. Well done! 👏