OT for Inclusive Occupations: Stories of Not Just Being Invited to the Party but Dancing

In this episode of Inclusive Occupations , host Savitha Sundar speaks with Dr. Wenonah Campbell —the John and Margaret Lillie Chair in Childhood Disability Research, Associate Professor at McMaster University, Scientist at CanChild, and co-developer of Partnering for Change (P4C) . Dr. Campbell’s work focuses on improving school-based occupational therapy service delivery to promote inclusion, par...

In this episode of Inclusive Occupations , host Savitha Sundar speaks with Bryden Carlson-Giving —a multiply disabled, multiply neurodivergent, queer occupational therapist, artist, and creator of the Empower Model, a neurodiversity-affirming framework for occupational therapy. Bryden shares his professional journey—from working in an ABA clinic , recognizing practices that felt harmful, and inten...

In this episode of Inclusive Occupations , host Dr. Savitha Sundar welcomes Dr. Jessica Apgar, educator, scholar, and researcher for 16 years . Dr. Apgar spent 8 years as a dual-certified inclusive educator in public schools and has worked with pre- and in-service teachers for the past 11 years. Her professional interests include inclusive education, systems change, literacy, and curricular alignm...

In this episode of Inclusive Occupations , host Savitha Sundar welcomes Kelly Mahler, OTD, OTR/L —occupational therapist, educator, and internationally recognized voice in interoception and mindful self-regulation. Kelly is the creator and author of The Interoception Curriculum , a widely used, step-by-step framework that helps learners notice body signals, connect them to emotions, and choose sup...

In Episode 2, Season 5 of Inclusive Occupations, host Savitha Sundar welcomes Dr. Matthew Brock , a Professor of Special Education and Faculty Associate at the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy. His research focuses on inclusive practices for students with significant cognitive disabilities, with an emphasis on peer-mediated interventions, preparing teachers and paraeducators to...

In this kickoff to Season 5, Savitha Sundar welcomes Amrita Sareen-Tak and Kaya Duggan , the dynamic duo behind B.e.t.t.e.r Ed Guide, an initiative dedicated to transforming how schools approach disability awareness and inclusion. Drawing from their personal journeys as parents and advocates, Amrita and Kaya share how their experiences inspired them to create tailored workshops and immersive progr...

In this season finale of Inclusive Occupations , we turn our attention to a topic often left at the margins—but one that belongs at the heart of our conversations: spirituality —defined as a deep sense of connection to something greater than oneself, often rooted in the search for meaning, purpose, and belonging. Our guest, Jeropha Shekinah, is a mother and graduate student specializing in religio...

In this heartfelt and eye-opening episode of Inclusive Occupations , host Savitha Sundar meets with Lori Boll , Executive Director of SENIA International , a passionate inclusion advocate and parent to a young adult with autism and intellectual disability. Lori’s journey is both deeply personal and professionally impactful, rooted in her experience raising her son Braden and shaped by her work acr...

About the Guest: In this 4th inclusion story of Inclusive Occupations, we meet Hannah Gamble, a 25-year-old lady with Down Syndrome who is thriving in her job at the cafeteria of Cedar Lane Elementary School. Hannah's journey is shared by her occupational therapist, Dr. Deborah Schwind, who has supported her since elementary school, and Hannah's mother, Barbara. We learn how Hannah was ful...

The third inclusion story features another star student of Dr. Debbie Schwind, Grant Davidson a remarkable 11th grader who lives with cerebral palsy, spastic quadriplegia, low vision, and epilepsy. Grant's story is one of resilience, positivity, and the unwavering support of his family. Grant's amazing personality and determined spirit shine through in this interview, demonstrating the power of lo...

This second inclusion story features Tyler Bernreuther, a 16-year-old Loudon County, Virginia sophomore. Tyler is joined by his mom, Trish, and his former school OT, Dr. Debbie Schwind (a former guest of Inclusive Occupations). “He is living his best life every day in school,” shares Tyler’s mom. Tyler’s family were fierce advocates in ensuring their son had the opportunities to do all that he was...

Pranav Bakshi is popularly known as India's first male Autistic model. Pranav claimed his autistic superpowers to design the life he wanted to have. Pranav also says his mom, Anupama, is his second superpower (Autism being his first). Co-occupation is a term used in occupational therapy to describe occupations where two or more individuals share a high level of physicality, emotionality, and i...

In the second part of the two-part series on the Inclusive Education Roadmap (IER) by the TIES center, Dr. Debbie Taub delves deeper into the “how” of the IER. Dr. Deborah Taub, Ph. D., is the owner of OTL Education Solutions, LLC. She provides research and professional development assistance to states, territories, and other entities working to develop and sustain best practices for students with...

In this first part of the two-part series on the Inclusive Education Roadmap (IER) by the TIES center, Dr. Diane Ryndak gives us a general overview of the work done for sustainable systemic change in inclusive education at the state, district, and school. After getting together a diverse Equitable Inclusive Leadership Team (EILT), the second step of the Inclusive Education Roadmap is called RISE (...

Dr. Tina Flecher worked as a small-town school OT for 25 years. While working as an OT in schools in rural Texas, she pursued her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in fine arts and sculpture. She then went on to get her educational doctorate. She is a Texas Woman’s University professor on the verge of retirement. Dr. Fletcher understood the lived experiences of her students with disabilities in her...

In this episode, Michael Thomas, Executive Director of My Possibilities, a 501(c)(3) for cause organization serving adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) in the Dallas Metroplex area, TX, shares how the organization enables a path towards inclusion for our HIPsters (Hugely Important People). My Possibilities is the first full-day, full-year educational program of its kind i...

In this episode, Dr. Cheryl Jorgenson responds to this question: "why have the numbers not changed in the past ten years when it comes to inclusive placements for students with extensive support needs?". Are decisions to place students with complex needs in lesser restrictive environments made by genuinely considering what is best for our students, or do we make decisions based on what w...

Carol Conway, occupational therapist, and Becca Moskovitz, speech and language pathologist at Hudson School District, Ohio, recognized how peers could be powerful agents of inclusion in their school community. They lead the "Buddies program" in their elementary school, which grew and evolved over 12 years, creating opportunities for students with complex access needs and their peers to develop aut...

In this episode, Diana Pastora Carson a passionate inclusion activist and an advocate for disability rights, enlightens us about moving beyond disability awareness to access awareness. By sharing the powerful story of her brother Joaquin's journey from segregation and institutionalization to inclusion, Diana invites us to do better as we know better.  About Diana Pastora Carson:  Diana P...

Dr. Natalie Davenport not just believed in inclusive education but decided to show the world that it can be done.  After years of experience as an educator, school psychologist, entrepreneur, and assistant professor of Education and School Psychology at Texas A&M University, Dr. Davenport founded the Bridgeway Preparatory Academy, a public charter school at Farmers Branch, TX. Through thi...

In this episode, Dr. Erik Carter, Ph. D., a distinguished professor at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN,  shares his personal story,  insights, and wisdom from over 30 years as an educator, researcher, and ally to individuals with Extensive Support Needs (ESN). Dr. Carter's life's work has focused on promoting authentic inclusion and meaningful relationships for individuals with disa...

Dr. Kristie Patten Ph. D., OT/L, FAOTA, recipient of the highest academic achievement award of the American Occupational Therapy Association- the Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship for this year- 2022, is our esteemed guest in this episode.  Dr. Patten is an exemplary OT whose research is focused on using a strengths-based paradigm as well as the perspectives of autistic individuals to underst...

Dr. Lakshmi Balasubramanian is passionate and devoted to the cause of enabling and empowering K-12 schools to successfully include students with all abilities including those with extensive support needs. She is a lecturer and researcher at Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA in the department of special education. Prior to this, she worked as a special education teacher and inclusion specialist in...

Dr. John Freer, Professor at St. Clair College Ontario Canada and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Windsor,  is our special guest in this episode. Addressing attitudinal barriers to social inclusion is the focus of his research.  He developed the Tripartite Intervention, a 12-week program addressing all the 3 domains of attitude, namely the affective (how one feels about...

Our first guest of season 2 is the highly renowned Dr. Susan Bazyk, Ph. D., OTR/L, FAOTA, Professor Emerita of Cleveland State University. She shares about the journey of Every Moment Counts , a multi-tiered framework that guides the provision of a range of services and supports geared to meeting the mental health needs of children and youth with and without disabilities and promoting mental healt...