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Description
My doctoral capstone project was completed at Woodfill Elementary School within Fort Thomas Independent Schools under the ACOTE focus areas of education and program development. The purpose was to develop educational resources that increased elementary educators' understanding of occupational therapy concepts related to handwriting development and sensory regulation while supporting student participation, engagement, and academic success.
A needs assessment identified teachers' desire for greater knowledge of occupational therapy services and practical classroom strategies for handwriting and sensory regulation. Limited access to occupational therapy consultation, due to one occupational therapist serving the entire district, further emphasized the need for sustainable educator resources. A review of the literature supported the importance of teacher education, interdisciplinary collaboration, and early intervention.
To address these needs, I developed two educational websites: a Handwriting Support Toolkit and a Sensory Regulation Toolkit for elementary educators. These websites include evidence-based information, classroom strategies, developmental guidelines, printable resources, accommodations, observation tools, and additional supports. Project deliverables included handwriting developmental progression charts (Figure 1), handwriting and classroom support resources (Figure 2), sensory regulation resources and classroom strategies (Figure 3), and printable sensory observation and tracking tools (Figure 4). The resources were evaluated through ongoing collaboration with school staff, mentor feedback, and review for relevance and usability.
This capstone promoted occupational therapy practice by increasing educator access to occupational therapy knowledge and strengthening collaboration between teachers and occupational therapy practitioners. The completed websites provide sustainable, evidence-based resources that support handwriting development, sensory regulation, classroom participation, and long-term student success across the district.
Graduation Date
2026
Keywords
handwriting, sensory, sensory regulation, school OT, prewriting
Disciplines
Occupational Therapy
Degree Type
Book
Site Mentor
Shayln Jones
Comments
https://youtu.be/ok13p6oqSaI