The American Occupational Therapy Association continues to promote the role of occupational therapy in mental health settings, as this is a core component of the Centennial Vision (AOTA, 2006) and a focus of the Association’s position papers (AOTA, 2017). The profession has identified the role of occupational therapy in mental health recovery and includes residential settings as a treatment area (AOTA, 2016), however there continues to be a scarcity of therapists working in these settings and a lack of research to identify our role. This presentation will introduce participants to occupational therapy’s role in residential mental health treatment. Strategies that can be used to advocate to housing providers in forming relationships will be identified. Components of program design and interprofessional collaboration will also be identified. Case studies highlighting assessments relevant to this setting and individual and group approaches will be discussed.

Becoming an entrepreneur can be exciting and daunting. The path from product concept to market can be demanding and fraught with barriers to success. This course will guide attendees on the process of designing and bringing adaptive products to market. This writer’s ongoing seven year experience with the AquaEve urinal becoming a commercial product will be utilized as a case example to illustrate the application of the principles and strategies in the course.

Being a holistic and client-centered health care provider, occupational therapy practitioners can have a positive impact on new mothers and help with a successful role transition to motherhood as the current maternal health models appear to exhibit gaps where new mothers have needs. Occupational therapy's ability to address physical, emotional, and psychosocial issues of new mothers and suggestions for intervention areas will be explored in this course.

In our 20Q, we are talking to Fred Sammons, one of the early pioneers in occupational therapy. He has been an occupational therapist for over 60 years. During that time, he has been an innovator in designing, manufacturing, and distributing adaptive equipment for people with disabilities while collaborating with occupational therapists and clients to identify needs and to generate product ideas.

Part 1 of this course explores mental health during pregnancy and the postpartum period, identifies risk factors, and reviews manifestations of perinatal mental illness. It will also look at changes in a woman’s role and her mental health after a pregnancy or infant loss.

Part 2 of this course examines the impact of parental mental health on infant development. Opportunities for OTs to support mothers, the mother-baby dyad, and the entire family are explored.

This course focuses on how the motor learning model can promote motor skill acquisition throughout the lifespan. Utilizing dynamic systems theory, participants will learn how to provide feedback, adapt the environment and the task and how to assess motor learning effectively to optimize occupational performance.

The position of the pelvis very much determines the position of the trunk and lower extremities and so achieving and maintaining the optimal position is critical. This course will present common pelvic asymmetries with suggested strategies to address each challenge. Providing as neutral a pelvic position as possible improves overall posture, stability and function.

This course will discuss the evidence-base and review the clinical applications of mental practice coupled with repetitive task practice to enhance physical rehabilitation outcomes in children.

Overseeing and supporting OT and PT personnel and service delivery can be a challenge for special education administrators. This course will help you help your administration attract, train, supervise, support and nurture long-term relationships with OT and PT practitioners.