Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Alumni Association

Upd

ate

SPRING 2014

Coast to Coast and Around the World

This Update

Alumni President Update Message from the Department Chairs

Valedictory Addresses

Student Updates

Taking Us Further: Alumni Profile

ICDR: Global Health on the Move

Events

Thank You

In Memoriam

Alumni Achievement Awards Nomination form (back cover)

Physical Therapy

and Occupational

Therapy Alumni

Association

Executive Committee

Gaye WalshPresident

Margaret ShawPast Present

Mary Sauroil Spring Reunion/Events Committee and PT Faculty Rep

Ashley GrahamUpdate Editor

Biraj KhoslaAchievement Awards

Diane GasnerCommunications Committee

Patty RigbyOT Faculty Rep

Sheila Ritcey Member Communications Committee

Shirley LuptonMember-at-Large

Ryan Wells (PT)Giacomo Silvestri (PT)Andrea Hickling (OS&OT)Danielle D’Alessandro (OS&OT)Student Reps

Updateus

Update your address:PT/OT Alumni Association University of Toronto 160/500 University Avenue Toronto, ON M5G 1V7

Email:address.update@utoronto.ca Tel: 416-978-1820Fax: 416-946-8643

UPDATE welcomes submissions from alumni. We want to hear about your accomplishments! Submissions can be emailed to ptot.update@utoronto.ca

Please note submissions are subject to gentle editing.

Note from the Editor... There are so many Alumni who work and live all across Canada, some can be found in the US, and others still in Australia, Europe, and Africa. Making this edition of Update is very exciting! In the next few pages you will get to travel with some of our fellow Alumni to places, like Tanzania, where they have gone to learn and use their OT or PT skills.

Don’t forget to submit stories and pictures you would like to see included in future editions and check out all the editions of Update on our website!

Cheers, Ashley

Cover photo by Ashley Graham

1

Alumni President Update...Hello all,

I am back to the Alumni after a short leave of absence. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to both Marg Shaw and Mary Sauriol for holding the reins in my absence. It is good to be back. As always there are lots of activities happening with the Alumni.

I was amazed and inspired once again by the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy Research Symposium held in November. There is such wonderful research going on across all areas of practice and in all parts of the world.

Plans are well underway for our annual Spring Reunion and Annual General Meeting on June 1st weekend. Details of activities are contained later in the magazine. We would love to see you all at the various events, however, if your class is getting together on your own we would still love to hear about it and receive any pictures you have.

Just a reminder that we present the PT and OT Alumni Achievement Awards at the reunion breakfast where we honour an outstanding alumnus/a from each profession. It is always humbling to meet and learn about the amazing careers of so many of our alumni. Thanks as always to Biraj Khosla who chairs this Achievement Award Committee. This committee is currently launching a new award called “Above and Beyond” which allows us to honour other alumni who have done remarkable feats outside the profession.

We are continuing to renew our website. If you have logged on lately to our website, you will have noticed it is in sad need of some refurbishment. Many thanks to Diane Gasner in her ongoing efforts to update and refurbish the website.

You no doubt have noticed that we have changed the format of our Fall issue of Update to an electronic version. We have done this in an effort to trim costs. All issues are available on our website. Many thanks to Ashley Graham our Editor who has provided a fresh new look for the magazine.

Many of you will have heard by now that the Department of OSOT has recently had a favourable external review led by the Chair Susan Rappolt. We also wish to extend congratulations to Susan in her reappointment as Chair of the Department for a further five years (but where did those first five go?).

And finally, we bid both farewell and thanks to Katherine Berg in her role as Chair of the Department of Physical Therapy. Katherine will be stepping down from this role at the end of June (and where did those 10 years go?). We extend our thanks to Katherine for the support of our Alumni activities during her time as Chair.

I am looking forward to seeing many of you at Spring Reunion.

- Gaye

VISIT OUR WEBSITEFrom the Homepage of

either Department

www.physicaltherapy.utoronto.ca You will find the Alumni Link under ‘Quick Links’ or in the top bar under Our Community

www.ot.utoronto.caYou will find the Alumni Link as a pull-down from the Home page “Alumni Association & Magazine”

You can find fast links to other websites with interesting and relevant information: Free University lectures, honours and awards within the University, the Faculty of Medicine and our own Departments, as well as Status Appointment and faculty categorization information.  We recommend bookmarking the site for quick and easy access.

You can also find us on Facebook! Check either place regularly for

updates and highlights!

2

Mobile Intelligence - Find it on our web site

Michael Saylor in his publication The Mobile Wave argues that society will be changed forever by the mobile wave washing over our landscape. We must learn to navigate the new terrain as mobile intelligence changes everything. Watch for changes in our web site and join the information revolution.

Departmental Update: Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

As Acting Chair, I have the great pleasure to give you recent and exciting news from the Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy. It continues to be a busy time here in the Department with many achievements and accolades for our faculty and students alike.

First off, I am pleased to report that external reviewers who were on site in September 2013 have now provided their report. They were very positive and supportive of the many achievements accomplished by the Department over the past five years, and they have offered valuable suggestions for our future. A key outcome of this external review is that our Department Chair, Dr. Susan Rappolt, has been appointed for a second five year term. We look forward to another five years under her leadership.

With respect to Faculty news, on December 4, 2013, the Department held its Annual Faculty Assembly (AFA), chaired by Donna Barker, Director of Fieldwork and Chair of the Community Relations Committee. The Assembly was well attended by core, status only, and adjunct faculty members and many of our community partners. The theme of the Assembly was Entrepreneurialism in Occupational Therapy with presentations by Dr. Nick Reed and Occupational Therapist Sean Fleming. Nick Reed, who is a Clinician Scientist at Bloorview Research Institute and Status Only Appointee with the Department, spoke on his experience in expanding the boundaries of occupational therapy beyond traditional health care practices. Sean Fleming, who is a 2013 MScOT graduate, gave a presentation on a very successful role emerging fieldwork placement at Sportball that illustrates the role MScOT students and the Department can have in enhancing organizations through OT involvement. In addition, our congratulations to winners of this year’s Community Partner Teaching awards: Jenna Rollings, Janet Murchison, Nira Rittenberg, Ken So, Alexis Seaman, Anne Martin, Christie Welch, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, and the University Health Network. Following the Annual AFA, everyone was welcome to join the Faculty Research Symposium, to celebrate Dr. Angela Colantonio’s award as CIHR Chair in Gender, Work, and Health and to see a showcase of faculty members’ research in the fields of Brain and Mental Health, Human Development, Complex Diseases, and Global Health. The event was attended by special guests University of Toronto Chancellor the Honourable Michael Wilson; CIHR Institute for Gender Work and Health Director Dr. Joy Johnson; and Dr. Peter Lewis, U of T Associate Vice-President, Research and Innovation, as well as scientific directors of research institutes, consumer organizations representatives, alumni, teaching faculty and students. Attended by more than 150 people from hospitals, research institutes, service organizations, and universities, the Symposium was a huge success.

Our faculty also continue to receive numerous individual awards. Dr. Angela Colantonio has just been awarded the 2014 Faculty of Medicine Graduate Teaching Award for Graduate Student Mentorship. This is one of six annual graduate faculty teaching awards to honour and celebrate outstanding contributions to graduate education. Candidates are nominated by their Graduate Department through a student (or recent graduate) initiated process and the awards are adjudicated by the Faculty of Medicine Graduate Awards Committee, consisting of faculty and graduate students. Angela was described in the nomination letters as a truly exceptional professor and exemplary mentor. Angela will be presented with this award at the Faculty of Medicine Education Achievement Celebration on May 13, 2014. In addition, the membership of AOTA Academy of Research has nominated Deirdre Dawson to the AOTA Academy of Research, the highest US scholarly honor that AOTF offers and one of the highest in the occupational therapy community in the USA.

We have also been busy building the future of our faculty and Department. With great pleasure we welcome Drs. Mary Stergiou-Kita and Heather Colquhoun as Assistant Professors and new tenure-stream faculty members to the Department. Dr. Kita began her appointment on January 1st. Her research focuses on return to work following traumatic brain injuries, including cancer and other complex conditions and building knowledge and practices in community and workplace integration and inclusive strategies for marginalized populations. Mary previously held a Joint Scientist position in the Department with the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute – University Hospital Network and a status-only and adjunct lecturer appointment. Dr. Colquhoun will be joining the Department on July 1, 2014 when she completes her Canadian Institutes of Health Research post-doctoral fellowship. Heather’s research focuses on knowledge translation, which addresses the Department’s broad goals of advancing effective and cost-effective occupational therapy practices.

As new faces join our Department, we also say goodbye to those who have helped to build our program and profession. After a long and great career with the Department, Professor Pat McKee will be retiring in July 2014. As we all know, Pat has long contributed to the teaching and research of the Department and is responsible for many teaching innovations that have ensured

Dr. Alex Mihailidis, Acting Chair

3

Research Symposium 2013: From left to right: Drs. Lewis, Rappolt, Colantonio, Johnson and the Honorable Michael Wilson

that her students enjoyed and benefited from being in her classroom. Pat will truly be missed, but we know that she will never be too far away and always willing to lend her support to the Department.

In addition to our Faculty members, our students also continue to impress. In December 2013, the OT Student Council led a fundraising drive for the Canadian Red Cross to help with the recovery efforts after Typhoon Haiyan, raising hundreds of dollars for this important cause.

Our graduates are also making a difference in their communities, such as Robin Mazumder (Graduate from the class of 2011). An occupational therapist and instructor at MacEwan University in Edmonton, Robin recognized that there was a demand in his community to address the needs of those affected by seasonal disorder and spearheaded “LightBrightYEG”, a pilot study that installed three solar lamps at a downtown public library that will be accessible to everyone in the community at no cost.

Olympic bobsled champions Heather Moyse (Class of 2007) and Kaillie Humphries who won Olympic Gold in bobsledding in 2010, have reunited and again won Gold in 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi. They also recently captured the Worldcup Bobsled title and headed into Sochi with three World Cup victories, one silver and one bronze medal.

Finally, on November 13, 2013, the Department held its Convocation Awards Ceremony and Reception to honour 81 of its new OT graduates. At this ceremony 17 of our graduates received special recognition for their outstanding achievements and 10 of these awardees were recipients of two awards. The event was completed with the upbeat and effervescent Valedictorian Address given by Amie Tsang to the Class of 2013. Amie celebrated the gender diversity of her class, praising it for having one of the highest number of conference presenters (the 2013 conferences: Ontario Society of Occupational Therapists conference in London, ON and the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists conference in Victoria, B.C.), and the highest number of participants in role emerging placements – a class, which pushed “forward the boundaries of where OTs work”(“boldly going to work where no OT has worked before”), and who have already become “huge hits on YouTube and on national television” – “a group of OTs who will change the world.”

As you can see, our Department continues to shine. I wish you all well, and look forward to working with all of you in my role as Acting Chair.

4

Update from Patty Rigby, Associate ProfessorDepartmental Representative to the OT Alumni and PT-OT Alumni Association

I’m very pleased to report that our department has renewed our commitment to build and foster our OT alumni relations. We have several new initiatives underway.

First, we are improving the OT Alumni section of our departmental website (http://www.ot.utoronto.ca/alumni). As a part of this initiative, we are interested in highlighting the accomplishments of our alumni. We would like you to contribute to this effort. If you or someone you know is involved in innovative and exciting initiatives, has been doing noteworthy work, or has been featured in any newspaper/magazine/local paper, we would love to hear about it. We will be featuring some of these stories in the “Alumni in the News” and “Innovative Initiatives” sections. We look forward to hearing about your exciting work!

Second, we will work with you to plan OT alumni special events. Our first of these special events was held on February 25th, 2014 on campus. It was a hugely successful Wine and Cheese Social, which featured the inspiring documentary, What’s Art Got to Do with It? followed by a discussion with our alumna, and talented filmmaker, Isabel Fryszberg. A large crowd of OT alumni and friends experienced fun socializing and networking, and considered how they may incorporate greater creativity and art in their OT practice.

As you have read in our Chair’s report, Pat McKee is retiring this year in July. A group of OT alumni have also formed an organizing committee to plan a celebration of Pat McKee’s

tremendous career in our department, and her many, many contributions to OT, and the training of numerous alumni. I’m sure many of you found Pat to be an inspiring, supportive and effective teacher, and would like the opportunity to recognize her in this way. We will announce plans for this celebration in the near future through email announcements. If you would like to help with this event, please let me know.

We are also making preliminary plans with PT alumni for a workshop on ‘starting your own business’. This weekend workshop will help entrepreneurial OT’s and PT’s make their dreams for starting a private practice/business a reality. We’ll keep you posted as our plans progress. We welcome volunteers to join our planning committee.

As many of our alumni live across Canada and beyond, we wish to keep connected with you and offer web-based networking and educational opportunities. We welcome your suggestions.

In closing, I want to emphasize that we greatly value the many contributions of our OT alumni to teaching, mentoring and supporting our MScOT students within our OT curriculum, both on and off campus. And we greatly appreciate your wise guidance and counsel in your participation on our departmental committees and other initiatives. We encourage you to keep involved and keep in touch with the department.

We look forward to hearing from you. Patty Rigby, Associate ProfessorEmail: patty.rigby@utoronto.ca Tel: 416 978-0528

The Physical Therapy Department underwent a five-year review in November 2013 by three external consultants from UBC, U of Saskatchewan and USC, the top ranked US physical therapy program. The reviews were very positive. Thank you to everyone who participated. I also wish to thank University of Toronto alumni and our community for their contributions to the program. Our students benefit greatly from your support and participation. I look forward to seeing everyone at Spring Reunion - my last as Chair. The search for a new Chair is ongoing but we should have someone in place by July 1, 2014.

StudentsStudents have been busily engaged in both academic and extra-curricular pursuits. On the morning of July 23, 2014, the Department will hold its annual MScPT Research Day. The MScPT Research Day provides physical therapy students with a valuable learning experience and the opportunity to share their work with peers, faculty clinicians and alumni. It also offers faculty members the opportunity to support the University of Toronto’s physical therapy students in their scholarly endeavors. We invite all alumni to come see the great work of our students and listen to Sharon Gabison PT Phd (c) who will speak on Advocacy.

Student social events this year have also been hugely successful, including the semi-annual coffee house. Physical Therapy students gathered at The El Macambo where we had singers, guitar players, and even DJs showcase their hidden talents. The PT/OT intramural team has already captured 2 championships: handball and inner-tube waterpolo, with many more sports entering the playoffs in the coming weeks. The Movember team is trying to outdo our fantastic showing last year with second year Jennifer Bull leading the charge (no pun intended). With over $1,100 raised so far, U of T Physical Therapy sits in 7th place across Canadian university programs. The Holiday Festivus again raised donations for the food bank.

OIEPBPProject SummaryThe Ontario Internationally Educated Physical Therapy Bridging Program (OIEPBP) offers a variety of learning opportunities to best meet the needs of the internationally educated physical therapists (IEPT’s) who are seeking licensure to practice in Ontario. The OIEPBP has 2 curricular streams; (i) Comprehensive Bridging which is a 10 month, full time program that runs Wednesday and Saturday for 8 months with an additional 2 – 4 week clinical internships and (ii) Modular Bridging which is a collection of courses and workshops that provide single source learning opportunities for IEPT’s to address a specific gap. To date 588 IEPT’s have accessed an element of the Bridging Program.

Project DescriptionThe Ontario Internationally Educated Physical Therapy Bridging Program (OIEPBP) offers a variety of learning opportunities to best meet the needs of the internationally educated physical therapists (IEPT’s) who are seeking licensure to practice in Ontario. This program fills a vital gap in the educational opportunities available to IEPT’s. Currently in the Ontario educational framework there are no other university based programs available for these learners. Upon successful credentialing by the regulators interested IEPT’s are assessed for eligibility for the Bridging Program.

The OIEPBP at the University of Toronto has established a curriculum that provides IEPTs with educational opportunities to enhance their knowledge, skills and clinical reasoning needed to meet Canadian entry-to-practice standards. The Physiotherapy Essential Competencies Framework has been central in the development of this curriculum. The courses/workshops developed to date include; PT in the Canadian Health Care System, Exam Preparation Workshops for both the Written (MCQ) and Practical (OSCE) based licensure exams, and System/Skills Based Workshops. There is also a Workplace Integration stream that supports successful Bridging candidates through to employment.

To date 39 IEPT’s have accessed a significant element of the Comprehensive Bridging Stream. The Comprehensive Curriculum spans all areas of physiotherapy practice in an effort to ensure that the theoretical and clinical skills gaps noted by the Alliance and the learners are met. The curriculum is designed to assist IEPT’s to prepare for the national licensure exams and to enter physiotherapy practice in Ontario. The Comprehensive Bridging Program includes the following courses; Health Care, Culture and Communication in Canada (HCCC), Physical Therapy in the Canadian Healthcare System (PT CHS), Fundamental Systems Review (FSR), Clinical Internship 1, Comprehensive Physical Therapy Practice, Integrated Systems Review, Research Integration in Practice, and Clinical Internship 2.

To date 549 IEPT’s have accessed an element of the Modular Bridging Stream. The Modular stream has been designed as a collection of courses and workshops that provide single source learning opportunities for IEPT’s to address a specific gap.

Departmental Update: Physical Therapy

Katherine Berg, Chair

5

Learners As with any evidence-informed educational program curriculum development and revision is an ongoing process. In response to IEPT demand and outcomes of preliminary course and program evaluations the OIEPB Program has a number of curricular redesign projects and learning tools in the planning stage and ready to move forward once renewed funding is secured.

Faculty Honors and AwardsFaculty continue to earn top research awards and honors in their fields. Prof. Dina Brooks has been named a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS), one of the most prestigious honors that is bestowed by the Canadian health sciences community.

Prof. Aileen Davis was appointed the Interim Director of the Toronto Musculoskeletal Centre (EDU-C).

Dr. Barbara Gibson is now the Bloorview Kids Foundation Chair in Childhood Disability Studies.

Prof. Carol Heck was recognized by the Mississauga Academy of Medicine in the area of Faculty Teaching Awards for Excellence in Small Group Teaching.

Dr. Nancy Salbach has won a CIHR New Investigator Award for her project, “Bringing research findings into action to improve stroke and HIV rehabilitation”.

Prof. Lynne Sinclair received an Honorary Bachelor Degree in Applied Studies from the Board of Governors of the Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning for her consulting work in Interprofessional Education.

New Members of the DepartmentThis month the Department welcomed Sue Ellison and Meghan Buttle, who join Dr. Esther Waugh in leading Unit 3, Musculoskeletal Physical Therapy Practice. Both newcomers are clinical practitioners at the Sports Medicine Specialists clinic here in Toronto.

The Department is happy to announce that Linda Stone accepted the position of Administrative Assistant to Chair and Information Officer.

New and Ongoing ResearchDr. Katherine Berg, Meredith Smith and Martine Quesnel are beginning recruitment of persons with stroke to participate in a Tele-Tai-Chi randomized clinical trial.

Dr. Barbara Gibson is on sabbatical and is undertaking collaborative research with colleagues in New Zealand.

Stephanie Nixon is one of 8 UofT researchers who were awarded Stars in Global Health grants from Grand Challenges Canada in October 2013. Her project, entitled “An eModule to Address HIV-Related Disability and Rehabilitation in Sub-Saharan Africa”, will be conducted with collaborators in Zambia and Kenya. The initiative will start with an online educational tool developed in Canada, and adapt and test a revised version for health workers in Sub-Saharan Africa to improve health and reduce disability for people living with HIV (PHAs) in that region. Rehabilitation in the context of HIV has been a crucial part of the HIV care continuum in Canada, where the prevalence of HIV is less than 1%. Imagine the impact of such a teaching tool in Sub-Saharan Africa, which carries nearly 70% of the global burden of HIV. Dr. Nixon’s work was recently profiles in the UofT News article, “Innovations for developing countries: Grand Challenges Canada”: http://www.news.utoronto.ca/innovations-developing-countries-grand-challenges-canada

Stephanie’s student, Shaun Cleaver, has won a five-year Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship and a W. Garfield Weston Foundation Doctoral Fellowship. He is using this to support his PhD dissertation fieldwork in Western province in Zambia where he is collaborating with communities of people with disabilities to explore new opportunities for rehabilitation.

Nancy Salbach, an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, has been collaborating with Jo-Anne Howe, Clinical Educator at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network and Lecturer in the MScPT neurology curriculum, to increase access to exercise programs for people living in the community with balance and mobility limitations. Nancy, Jo-Anne and colleagues first partnered with a municipal recreation provider (Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation) to implement a group, task-oriented exercise class at two community centres for people with stroke, multiple sclerosis and acquired brain injury. Physical therapists trained fitness instructors to deliver the program and were available for consultation. Since demonstrating the safety, feasibility and potential benefit to balance and walking capacity in a pilot study (soon to be published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health), the program called “Together in Movement and Exercise” (TIME), has expanded with help from the Ontario Stroke Network to 19 additional sites in Toronto, the GTA, Windsor, Sudbury and British Columbia. Nancy and Jo-Anne recently obtained a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Aging to fund a meeting of TIME stakeholders to form a network and brainstorm how to further expand and sustain these programs across Canada. They are seeking additional funding to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the TIME program.

6

7

Other AnnouncementsUpcoming EventsThe Faculty Awards Ceremony will be held at 11:30 am on February 20th, 2014 in the McLeod Auditorium.

Two workshops are being offered by the Department this Spring: Exercise Prescription for Cervical Dysfunction for Physical Therapists will be held on April 26th and 27th, while The Prevention, Assessment and Treatment of Chronic Wounds will take place on May 3rd and 4th.

The PT community is invited to participate in the GDRS Research Day, which will be held on May 14th, 2014. This year’s MScPT Student Research Day will take place on July 23rd. We hope to see you there!

Convocation 2013On Wednesday November 13th, the Department of Physical Therapy welcomed the 2013 graduates and their families to a reception at the Chestnut Conference Centre in honor of their convocation. This was followed by the first convocation ceremony with U of T’s new President, Meric Gertler. Noting the energy and enthusiasm of the students, Chancellor Michael Wilson expressed his confidence in the future of healthcare.

Student Awards:Dr. Barnett and Beverley Giblon presented their Award for Excellence in Physical Therapy to Amanda Kapsimalis (pictured left). Amanda attained the highest average throughout her studies in PT. She also earned the CIHR Health Professional Student Research Award. Lauren

Sutherland received the Dr. Barnett & Beverley Giblon Silver Medal for Excellence in Physical Therapy. Nadir Mawji and Masumi Turnbull were presented with the Olive Wallace Pester Fellowship in Physical Therapy by Ms. Pester (pictured right).

Valedictory AddressAmie Tsang (OT)

University of Toronto Master’s of Science in Occupational Therapy, Graduating Class of 2013 - We made it! There are so many people who helped us get to this day, and I’d like to begin my speech with a thank you.First of all, thank you to all of our loved ones - our friends and our families. We literally could not have made it through these two years without you. I will let you in on a secret. Over the last two years, I can guarantee that every OT graduate in this room has used their friends and family as practice clients. We have secretly examined your shoes for abnormal gait patterns, screened you for cognitive impairments, assessed and adjusted your work station, all the while using techniques that were not quite honed and probably without obtaining proper consent. Thanks to you, we have all learned to improve our competency in technical skills and our ethical practice. You pushed us, encouraged us, loved us, and we seriously wouldn’t be here without you. Thank you.I’d like to thank another group of people we love, just with a different kind of love than our friends and family. To the ninth floor office team: you were the only consistent faces we saw over the last two years. While a different professor taught every class, term after term you were there on the ninth floor, ready to give sound financial advice, share some chocolate when we looked stressed, and lend us a stapler two minutes before papers were due. You handled all the random requests we had with grace and kindness and for that we thank you.Next, I would like to thank all of our professors, preceptors, and other teaching clinicians, for giving us their time, energy, and expertise. In Toronto, we are lucky to have access to some of the world’s best teaching hospitals, as well as prominent researchers and clinicians. You taught us knowledge and skills, but also patience and compassion. You fed our minds, or our "academic stomachs", if you will, and sometimes our actual stomachs too, with memorable end-of-term celebration cakes made out of cupcakes, and with fruit instead of candy during our lecture about diabetes. We hope to follow in your footsteps and become the amazing preceptors, teachers, and role models you have been for us.But most importantly, I want to thank you, this wonderful class. In reading Valedictorian speeches from previous years, every Valedictorian thinks their class is the best and the most wonderful. But we all know the truth. The graduating class of 2013 is absolutely the best and most wonderful class! I thought a lot about the theme or message I wanted to share today, and I decided it is not about occupational therapy or the University or our future clients; although they all are extremely important. Today, I want to celebrate our amazing class. Did you know our class is one of the most racially diverse OT classes? We are still working on the gender diversity, but nevertheless, I believe our diversity is something to be celebrated as we push forward the cultural competency of our profession. We are also a class with one of the highest number of conference presenters, with posters and presentations at the Ontario Society of Occupational Therapists conference in London,

Ontario this year, and at the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists’ conference in Victoria, BC. We also had one of the highest number of participants in role emerging placements, pushing forward the boundaries of where OTs work, by boldly going to work where no OT has worked before. We have classmates who became huge hits on YouTube and on national television, pushing our profession further into the public’s eye. There is no doubt in my mind that we are a group of OTs who will change the world. We have already accomplished so much over the past two years and consistently supported one another along the way. For example, when I found out I was going to be Valedictorian, I received a lot of support from the class through congratulations and hugs, but also in the form of unsolicited suggestions for the speech. There were a lot of ideas to choose from, including: teach the audience to bake a loaf of bread from scratch, sit with my feet up on the podium, talk about my OT blog (shameless plug - it’s OTstudent.tumblr.com, check it out), rap or sing a song, and cite the entire speech in proper APA format (M. Kasner, personal communication, 2013).Although these were some fun ideas, I decided I would need to use something more serious for inspiration. So, I did what any good OT student would do and reflected on the last two years. Then, I did what any good grad student would do and went back through my notes to see if I had already written something I could use for the speech. As it turns out, after the first month of school, my mentor asked us to write down what we expected from this program and we put our thoughts into a time capsule. We opened these just prior to graduation. Do you remember what your first day of OT school was like? Your first month? Take a moment to think about it now. What did you expect from the program back then?I wrote down three things that I expected from the program, and I’m going to talk a little bit about how this program met all of my expectations.First of all, I wrote that I expected to have a degree at the end of this program. Well done, I did it. We all did it. We have our Master’s of Science in Occupational Therapy!The second thing I wrote down was a career direction. Proof of a career direction is not as obvious as a diploma, so, as evidence based practitioners let us carefully examine the evidence of a career direction. Our class has three PhD candidates, several world-class travellers, Occupational Therapists working in British Columbia, Alberta, Northern Ontario, Quebec & Toronto, and wives and moms! We’ve generated amazing class discussions over the last two years about transitioning to adulthood with a disability, about recovery in mental health, and about older adults and sexuality. We adapted bras, canes and wallets. We worked with a variety of marginalized populations: children with developmental disabilities, adults who are homeless, youth

8

in early psychosis, and older adults with multiple comorbidities. We have really internalized OT models like the CMOP-E. I know this because of all the jokes we’ve made about "participating in leisure activities" when we were out dancing, and how we were going to “enable self-care" by getting our eyebrows done. We have an occupational lens that will stay with us, no matter what direction our career takes us. Finally, the last thing I wrote after I had been in OT school for one month was that I expected life long friendships from this program. Over these last two years we have come together as a class to climb the CN Tower, race a dragon boat to the podium, practice yoga in tiny classrooms, buy a family Christmas presents, and throw “cultural potlucks”. I have to pause briefly on this point about food. Our class really enjoys food. We also genuinely like one another and the expression of our camaraderie often emerged in the form of food. I've eaten more spring rolls and matzo balls over the last two years than any other time in my life. I don’t think I could have made it through class without the daily back row buffet. I will never get over the fact that Shannon would bake enough cookies to feed a small army before every exam. We spent quality time bonding as study groups cooped up in study rooms for hours on end, making fools of ourselves on video, and making signs with cats on them and dinosaur-themed cheers to encourage class presenters. I could go on forever about the proof of the life long friendships we’ve built. I remember a professor once commented on how cute it was that we all got up to talk to one another during class breaks. It didn’t matter that we saw each other every day for 3-8 hours a day, we still had to use that 10 minute break to talk to one another. A lot of us have admitted to some degree of separation anxiety when we completed school. We have probably become a little too attached and dependent on each other. However, I want remind everyone about what we learned in school about the concept of independence: that walking with a walker is just as independent as walking without a gait aid. That people who are dependent on others for self-care shouldn't be made to feel badly for it because no one in this

world is completely independent. Most

of you here didn't make the shirt you're wearing or build the car you took to get here. It's just that we have normalized our dependence in certain areas. So if we really believe that our clients can define their own independence, let's define it for ourselves too. Is it so improper to admit that as budding clinicians, we need the support of our classmates and mentors? I'm excited to continue using the Facebook group to share inspiring stories and information, and to continue posting resources to our class Dropbox. I hope Shannon will continue to bake me cookies when I'm stressed too, but I know that's probably pushing it.So I got exactly what I expected from my experience as a student Occupational Therapist at the University of Toronto: a degree, a career direction, and life long friendships.We're now at the point in the speech where I am supposed to say something motivating or inspiring to close. I would like to finish off with some advice from my grandfather, who was recently placed in palliative care. And in this way, I can also honour him. Much like our graduating class, my grandpa is the best. He uses a wheelchair. When I told him I was learning how to fit wheelchairs he was very excited. He said I had a good job, since lots of people were getting old and would need wheelchairs. I, being the keen advocacy-minded OT I am, told him that lots of people of all ages use wheelchairs. He paused before asking..."So when are you going to open a wheelchair factory!?"My advice to you from my grandpa is not to open a wheelchair factory, although given the current job market and my grandfather's market analysis, it's probably not a bad idea. But no, my advice is to dream big, because my grandfather always dreamed bigger for me than I did for myself.All it takes to change the world is a dream and people to work together towards that dream. Cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead is quoted as saying: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." So to you, the University of Toronto Master’s of Science in Occupational Therapy Graduating Class of 2013: Dream big, dream together, and change the world. Congratulations!

9

OS&OT CONVOCATION AWARDS 2013

Jenny Lau Memorial Award – Season KamNina Mehta Underserviced Populations Recognition Award – Season KamPamela Cowie Gray Generosity of Spirit Award – Jade RyanPT & OT Alumni Association Award – Jade RyanOntario Society of Occupational Therapists Award – Allison RinneCanadian Association of Occupational Therapists Student Award – Michelle DiLauroMargaret Bahen Gold Medal Award – Ilyse Lax

Hospital for Sick Children Prize in Paediatrics – Melissa PanicciaI.V. League of Occupational Therapists Prize in Community Rehabilitation – Amanda PereiraJenne Lewis Goodman Award – Marissa Matijasevich & Michelle DiLauroMarge Murphy Award – Amanda Yaeck & Justin SimonMotion Specialties Assistive Technology Award – Kalyn ArmstrongMount Sinai Hospital Book Prize – Carolyn WongPearl Gryfe Assistive Technology Award – Amanda YaeckRemington Medical Award in Rehabilitation of Adults – Amelia HockinRemington Medical Award in Rehabilitation of Older Adults – Michelle DiLauroThelma Cardwell Prize in Research – Michelle DiLauro & Amanda PereiraToronto Occupational Therapy Psychiatry Interest Group Award – Marissa Matijasevich & Allison RinneUniversity Health Network Prize – Ruby KnafoVHA Rehab Solutions Prize in Community Practice – Jessica Botelho & Amelia HockinCanadian Occupational Therapy Foundation Future Scholar Award – Brynde Edwards

Valedictory AddressAnne-Marie Bourgeois (PT)“PT How: Then and Now”

Good afternoon everyone! My name is Anne-Marie Bourgeois and I am a Physiotherapy Resident with the University of Toronto. How is everyone doing today?So the purpose of my presence up here, at this podium, is to provide the Valedictory Address on behalf of the MScPT Class of 2013. Now what that basically means I’m going to share something small I’ve put together called “PT How: Then & Now” which describes how I knew I was in the right program, with the right people, under the right leadership. And so relevant to each of these categories, I’ll describe when my symptoms started, and how they have evolved over the course of the program to now, as a new grad or PT Resident. In terms of what to expect, I just want to let you all know that it shouldn’t be painful (or least tooooooo painful!). Benefits include a trip down memory lane or a glimpse into our lives for the past two years, with I hope, a healthy mix of humor and heart.Risks include that you won’t find it heartfelt or humorous. That being said I will do everything to mitigate these risks.Now, armed with the plan of attack, as well as the risks and benefits, I would like to request your consent to proceed?Can I have nods? I need nods.Now, I would also like to request that if anyone has any discomfort or pain with any of the moves, or any questions, comments, regrets with any of the stories, that you please let me know!

Right ProgramIt all started with the application process. I gathered with my peers in the 4th floor computer lab, of 500 University Avenue (soon to be dubbed ‘500’), where we were exposed to our first faculty member, Sharon Switzer-McIntyre (aka SSM) who genuinely and enthusiastically guided us through the tremors and trials of the CAP (Computerized Assessment Profile), a series of interview-style questions answered via tornadoes of typing over the course of 3 hours. Upon completion, with bilateral Carpal tunnel syndrome setting in, we were herded around the building by ‘jovial, tell it like it really is’ PT students who were already in the program and in jogging pants and hoodies (our soon to be staples!).And so moving on: we applied, we were accepted and then once in the program I’ll just highlight a few of the numerous reasons it felt right: Nerdy humor had a place!!! For example, gait analyses occurred constantly, not even Saturday nights were sacred as we earned points for spotting scapular wingers, tippers, and could be heard saying things like “Yikes, check out the genu varum on that guy!’ Or “Annnnd we’ve got a Trendelenberg approaching on the left!”It was acceptable, or at least only mildly disruptive, to stand up and stretch in the back of class We got to work with real cadavers for anatomyWe got to work with real people for labWe got to work with real clinicians who helped us with our handling and shared their clinical pearls.We got to work in real inpatient and outpatient settings for placements. Oh, the drama, the trauma of placements! It worked out, it didn’t work out, some worked out, none

worked out but no matter what, we all learned a great deal!

Most importantly however, through it all, despite stress or work-load-related dips in morale I feel we were without a doubt constantly stimulated and constantly challenged as together, we battled daily the incredibly inconvenient and terrifying realization that ‘it depends’! The brave, and ‘no bones about it’ leaders of MSK Unit 3 were the primary pioneers of this repeat phrase, and we had to slowly accept the fact that the exact diagnosis or exact treatment is not always in our notes or our slides, nor is it buried somewhere in Blackboard or even posted late! Now let’s turn to the present. To make it about me for a moment, it really does depend! In my new job, I’m still stimulated and challenged daily, and I, so help me somebody, I hope I’m not alone here, continue to not always know the exact diagnosis nor the exact treatment. It still depends. And that is still terrifying. Yes, I am Anne-Marie Bourgeois, PT Resident and I am terrified. Daily.But it’s FUN, it’s exciting, it’s frustrating, and it’s meaningful. Every patient is and will be different! And we have to learn and review regularly! Sometimes at a fast pace! Especially when for example you have a female client post-mastectomy scheduled back-to-back with a male client with Scheuermann’s - where did I put those lymphedema management notes, and wait, what was the gospel according to Robyn for Scheuermann’s Disease!?That actually happened, during Week 1 of my new job. And just to be totally candid, both of those charts were littered with post-it notes on what to make sure I do, or do differently next time. And in the spirit of continued candor, I admit I fluctuate between feeling I’m brutal and feeling I’m awesome, but regardless I’m always motivated and I always feel I did the right program.

Right PeopleSo not only did I do the right program, I did it with the right people!Forever friendships were fast made, for example, in the line-up for mask fit testing, at the book store, during break by the fountain, or in the lab in our sports bras.One thing stands out for me personally, I remember, being asked by friends outside of PT, those with jobs and mortgages, ironing boards and dinner parties, ‘So AM, how is school?!’ And there I’d go, instead of providing the anticipatory ‘good’ or ‘busy’, I’d find myself off on some royal rant, some meandering monologue about how ‘niiiice’ everyone was, just the ‘niiiiiicest’ people, the most genuine bunch of people you ever met… And then true to form, I’d eventually realize I was still going. So I’d have to claw myself short and utter the ‘Oh and school, ya school is gooood!’ And it WAS, but I would always get distracted by how awesome you all were/are!I just have to say it was an incredibly cohesive group of smart, kind, and like-minded people. Once we’d finished staking our territory in 140, and nestling into our sides and

10

social groups and seats (once we’d had enough), if late it didn’t matter where you plunked, who you plunked beside, or for that matter who was in your cadaver crew or PT Logic, clinical patterns, clinical reasoning, ethics, research or small groups. Nor did it matter whose appendage you pushed, pulled, glided or tilted, we were always warmly welcomed by whomever, wherever and whatever the scenario.

I’d like to add another adjective: generous. Incredible gestures of generosity came in multiples forms. For example, shared notes, tables, charts, reminders, recipes, tumblirs, baked goods, inspirational quotes, and pre-party hosting, to name just a few!Turning to Facebook, it seems no setting is impervious to the powers of Facebook, as it even has a place in this speech. But for all its faults, particularly it’s ability to derail any and every well-intended study session, I have such a soft spot for our class Facebook page, whether it’s to gawk at pictures posted of humorous or compromising scenarios from lab or class, or to banter back and forth re: course content or comic relief. Particularly noteworthy was how we could find solidarity in studiousness, including sarcastic ‘So how’s everyone doing?” on nights before exams, or more importantly, helpful questions and answers. For someone

would flick up a question and almost immediately, answers were posted and/or links to more information provided.Now, to bring it back to me for just a bit, in term of how I how my ‘right people’ symptoms have evolved to present, two things stick out:- First, is the instant support - I’m alone at my work and the couple of times I’ve popped up a question regarding something about one of my current clients I’ve received rapid replies – multiple chat windows shoot up simultaneously with multiple suggestions! So I end up skipping out to meet that client rather than approaching with trepidation, and deep breathing, and purse-lip breathing and yet another waving of my internal ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ pom poms.-Second, quite simply and truthfully, I know I did it with the right people by how much I miss you all. I realize I’m wordy, but I’m finding it really hard to find enough words or at least the right words to articulate just how wonderful it is to be together again, and just how far away I feel from you sometimes.

....To continue reading the PT 2013 Valedictorian Address please go to page 20 of the electronic version of this publication.

11

PT CONVOCATION AWARDS 2013

Highlighted Awards:Nadir Mawji & Masumi Turnbull

Olive Wallace Pester Fellowship in Physical TherapyLauren Sutherland

Dr. Barnett & Beverley Giblon Silver Medal for Excellence in Physical Therapy Amanda Kapsimalis

Dr. Barnett & Beverley Giblon Award for Excellence in Physical Therapy;CIHR Health Professional Student Research Award

Awards:Wing-Tung Rachel Lee: Canadian Physiotherapy Association – Paediatric Division Award; Molly Verrier AwardRyan Brijlal, Samantha Chung, Jonathan Lim Sze How, Nadir Mawji, Min Tang, Anne-Marie Bourgeois, Allison Condren, Ellen McCurry, Giulia Mesaroli, Peter Petropanagos: Breathe in Life Research Poster AwardNadir Mawji: Physical Therapy/Occupational Therapy Alumni Association AwardMin Tang: University Health Network PrizeAnne-Marie Bourgeois: St. Michael’s Hospital Trauma Physiotherapy AwardAli Hassan: Carlos Melendez Memorial AwardLisa Herterich: C. Estelle Cunningham PrizeAbdullah Imam: Central Toronto District – OPA AwardRachel Parisien: Heart and Breath of Physical Therapy AwardMathew Hughes (2012) & Diane Blonski (2013): Cardiorespiratory Division Student AwardKendra Saunders & Tristan Senior: Goldie Lewis AwardGiulia Mesaroli: Hospital for Sick Children Prize in PaediatricsJessica Pearo: Mount Sinai Hospital Book AwardAli Hassan: Mountain Challenge AwardKatie Hauck: Toronto Cathay Lions Club ScholarshipAngela Chung, Etienne Dugal-Tessier, Edga Escorcia, Kathy Li, Lisa Smuskowitz: pt Health Prize for Excellence in Student ResearchEtienne Dugal-Tessier: Kathryn A Falconer Memorial PrizeAmanda Rancourt: Canadian Physiotherapy Association Award; Mary N. Sauriol Business Practice PrizeMegan Covert: Herta Leyss Scholarship in Physical Therapy

Student Updates

12

PT Student Council UpdateThe graduating PT class has just returned from 10 weeks hard at work in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and clinics in Toronto, the GTA, and across Canada! Meanwhile, the first year students look forward to their first taste of clinical experience in February. Social events this year have been hugely successful, including our semi-annual coffee house. Physical Therapy students gathered at The El Macambo where we had singers, guitar players, and even DJ’s showcase their hidden talents. Our annual Festivus celebration on December 18th was a great night filled with good food, festive holiday outfits, and a ton of laughs. Both the first years and second years contributed spectacular videos, while Dr. Dina Brooks performed a farewell poem to the PT1s for completing their first two units at U of T. Student council held a trivia night at O’Grady’s pub, with the 2 classes going head to head for bragging rights (taken home by the

second years!). Early January saw our FROST welcome back week. The PT students of 500 University were spotted participating in theme days that include sports, tight and bright, cowboy, and twin days. We look forward to our upcoming Blue Mountain ski trip in February! Physical Therapy followed up our outstanding performance in 2012 at Movember with another great year, raising $7,663.00, good enough for 24th across all Canadian university teams. Keeping the community in mind, over 100 food items were collected and donated to the Daily Break Food Bank. The PT/OT intramural teams have captured multiple championships, including European handball, inner tube water-polo, men’s flag football, and co-ed football, with great finishes in other sports too.

OT Student Council Update There is never a dull moment for our students in the OT program! The past year has been filled with exciting events and opportunities. We kicked off the year with O-week for the first year OT students, which was a memorable experience as they embarked on a journey to forming friendships that would continue to grow over the next few years. On the other hand, the second year OTs are approaching a bittersweet conclusion to their last year of student life (possibly) and preparing for post-grad aspirations! The students of the OT program have continued to exemplify their dedication to the profession as well as to the local and global community in many ways. Early in the fall term, we had the opportunity to: participate in the CN Tower Climb in support of WWF-Canada; celebrate and promote OT month at the UofT St.George Campus; raise over 800 dollars for the Movember Campaign within the Faculty of Medicine as well as fundraise over 700 dollars in response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. More recently we have donated over 200 toiletry items through our Bathtub drive to support WomenAide, a local organization dedicated to supporting women’s abuse shelters. Future fundraising initiatives will support and raise funds for Camp Winston, a camp for children with neurological conditions in Muskoka. Our fundraising efforts will support the camp’s developing OT department. On the academic side, our students continue to shine. The first year students have completed their introductory fieldwork placement and are nearing completion of their first year. The second year students are wrapping up their last academic term of the program and gearing up for final placements, the CAOT Conference in New Brunswick and Thelma Cardwell Research day in June 2014. Our students are equally committed to maintaining a work-life balance. In addition to various spontaneous socials

amongst students, the Student Council has also organized fun-filled events including karaoke night at the Fox & Fiddle and pub nights at O’Grady’s and The Loose Moose. We are looking forward to creating more memorable events disguised in the form of bake sales, Valentine’s Day celebrations, International Dragon Boat Race festival, semi-formals and many more! Here’s to another great year!

Taking Us Further: Alumni Profile

13

My OT experiences in Tanzania By Ashley Wilson, OT’09

In 2008 I traveled to Moshi, Tanzania as an Occupational Therapy student with the University of Toronto for an 8-week placement at the Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation Centre in Tanzania (CCBRT). In October of 2013 I returned to Moshi, Tanzania with 4 years of pediatric OT experience from working at the Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre. I volunteered for 1 week at CCBRT and 2 weeks at a partnering agency, Building a Caring Community (BBC) - a daycare for single parent families with a child who has a disability. Looking back it’s amazing how different the two trips were and how they’ve contributed to making me a more holistic OT and a more enlightened person. As a student and first-time visitor to Africa in 2008 some of the challenges were to be expected, such as the language barrier and cultural differences. Not knowing Swahili, it was difficult to communicate with the parents. The children on the other hand were either easily amused by our poor Swahili attempts and silly faces or terrified at their first sighting of a white person. Being immersed in a new culture provided me with many challenges. I was unsure what was an inappropriate question or behaviour and did not want to cause any offense. I observed parents handling their physically disabled children in ways that made me cringe and learned that a child’s disability in Tanzania is believed to bring a curse on their family. Looking back now, I see the best way to understand the families and provide them with appropriate suggestions was by immersing myself fully in their culture. An unexpected difficulty as an OT student in Tanzania was that we only saw the children once. The families couldn’t afford to travel to the clinic often, so it was challenging not being able to follow up and see if the suggestions given were useful. This helped me understand the importance of being client-centered. I learned to address parents’ concerns first because those were the areas they would be motivated to work on at home. Once this was discussed with the parents, we could then provide suggestions on a few of the often numerous areas of need. Our primary focus was towards the factors that posed the biggest health concerns to the child. The multidisciplinary work was another challenge; the OT’s at CCBRT are often functioning not only as an OT but also as a PT and SLP. Feeling not completely competent as an OT student and having to answer questions about gross motor development and speech delays provided endless challenges to my self-confidence. This was a great reminder to focus on the whole child. I absolutely loved my time spent in Moshi as a student; I was immersed fully into a brand new culture, I saw and did many things for the first time and ultimately walked away with a handful of new OT and personal skills. It was an amazing and life changing experience. It was interesting that although we were presented with many challenges during our placement abroad, these challenges turned into the greatest gifts. They were the best learning opportunities to grow as a professional and as a person and to expand my knowledge and perspectives. Personally, my greatest challenge with my placement abroad was coming home to Canada and feeling that I wasn’t able to contribute significantly enough while I

was there, so I started planning my return to Tanzania immediately. Returning to Moshi, Tanzania in 2013, I spent 10 days with 9 children at BCC (ages 3-14) and focused my therapy on 3 children at the request of the caretakers. I experienced a few challenges while at BCC as an OT, the first being behavioural challenges. As a pediatric OT, behavioural challenges are often part of the job but I quickly realized that what I considered to be inappropriate behaviours, the caretakers did not. Some of these behaviours were culturally appropriate, while others were not seen as a big enough issue to be concerned about, even though they were interfering with therapy. This revealed the importance of attachment in therapy. When I was connected with the children and attuned to their needs, they focused and did their best to complete the activity. Once the attention shifted to another child the behaviours started. It’s nearly impossible to stay connected with 9 children at the same time, so this became a problem. It was an extraordinary experience connecting with each of those 9 children and gaining their trust in a short period of time so that they would participate in therapy, whether it was fine motor, self care, sensory integration or feeding skill development. The other challenge I experienced was being told that some of the children at BCC would never go to school because of their disability. It was difficult because I could see the potential in the children and knew that if they had consistent therapy they could be competent enough to learn in school. I worked very hard to demonstrate one 9-year-old boy’s abilities to the caretakers in hopes that he might get the opportunity to go to school one day. Situations like these remind me of how very grateful I am for the life that I live and the job that I have; OTs can really make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. The 2 caretakers were amazing at BCC; they were keen to learn how to help these children and they were just as excited as I was to see the progress in just the first week of therapy. Returning to Moshi was a chance for me to share the knowledge that I had gained as a practicing OT. It made me feel that I wasn’t just a visitor in their town, but that I was a bigger part of their life, contributing something meaningful. The significance I’ve realized with both trips is that while I travel and volunteer hoping to somehow improve the lives of others the end result is that I return home a changed person. Although I return home this time with a sense of accomplishment and completion to my journey, I know that I will be back in Moshi again!

14

ICDR: Global Health on the Move2013 was a great year for the International Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation, or “ICDR” as we are often called. Housed within the Rehabilitation Sciences Sector, ICDR is a welcoming intellectual home to anyone interested in critical perspectives on global health, disability and rehabilitation. We have a vibrant community of students, clinicians, faculty and friends interested in using research and education to advance the rights of people with disabilities worldwide. Importantly, over 25% of ICDR’s members are UofT rehab alumni! Below are selected highlights from the year gone by. ICDR-Trinidad to host international fieldwork for OT, SLP and PT students: ICDR-Trinidad has enjoyed long and strong partnerships with the Immortelle Children’s Centre for Special Education and the Trinidad and Tobago Occupational Therapy Association. As part of these relationships, ICDR-Trinidad has provided 65 international clinical internships for OT students since 2001! This is a great success story in itself, but even more exciting is the recent development of training opportunities for PT and SLP students as well. In 2011, the first group of SLP students went to Immortelle School in Trinidad with the assistance of Canadian SLP, Fern Westernoff. In March 2014, the second ever SLP fieldwork placement will be offered with the onsite support of UofT SLP alum, Sarah Strathy. Sarah, who conducted an international fieldwork placement through ICDR in Tanzania during her own training, will work in collaboration with several Trinidadian SLPs. In the final week of this 7-week internship, the SLP students will welcome the OT students arriving to start their own 6-week fieldwork experience. In July 2014, two final year PT students will experience the first-ever UofT PT internship in Trinidad. This initiative takes interprofessional education global. Not only will the SLP and OT students work together for a week during their placements, but students from all three rehab fields will participate together in a fieldwork training and debriefing program implemented by ICDR in collaboration with the Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing. The vision for interprofessional international clinical education has been driven in part by Ellen Leung (an active member of ICDR-Kenya) who developed a model of interprofessional IPE as part of her recent Master’s of Education degree. Ellen then travelled to Trinidad with ICDR’s Education Lead, Deb Cameron, to initiate the program. Bravo to all involved! ICDR-Cameroon having an impact: Established in 2004,

ICDR-Cameroon is engaged in research, education and advocacy with people with disabilities in Cameroon. Please see the special report from ICDR-Cameroon members, Jaymie-Lyn Labelle-Rae and Lynn Cockburn in this same issue. ICDR-Philippines responds to Typhoon Haiyan: When devastating Typhoon Haiyan hit the islands of the Philippines in November 2013, ICDR-

Philippines Chair, PT Jeffrey Andrion, and his team responded swiftly. Communication channels lit up between Canada and family members in the Philippines and with ICDR partner, the Philippines Physical Therapy Association to identify how and where to help. A link was forged with Handicap International, with a triple-your-dollar fundraising campaign whereby all donations in December were matched by ICDR-Philippines, the sum of which was then matched again by the Canadian Government. We particularly thank the generous colleagues at the Sunnybrook Holland O&A, where Jeffrey is a PT, who gave so willingly to this cause! This emergency response is part of a long-term sustained effort to accelerate a rights-based response to disability in the Philippines. Each May, ICDR-Philippines hosts a continuing education Lecture Day for rehab clinicians, the proceeds from which are used to fund disability projects in the Philippines. This year’s presenter is Dr. Patrician Sullivan (author of 4 PT texts) on May 24th – join us there! We are also proud to announce that ICDR-Philippines hosted its first-ever UofT OT fieldwork placement in 2013, with a PT placement planned for 2014. Finally, we congratulate Jeffrey Andrion for winning the prestigious Department of Physical Therapy Exceptional Achievement Award for Professional Development, presented on February 18, 2014. Well deserved! ICDR study on education of children with disabilities in West Africa makes international headlines: In September 2013, a study conducted by ICDR-Consulting was released to widespread media interest by study funder, the non-governmental organization, Plan International. The research on inclusive education and children with disabilities in West Africa presented a groundbreaking picture of perspectives and opportunities for change in this neglected population. The report, entitled, “Outside the Circle: A research initiative by Plan International into the rights of children with disabilities to education and protection in West Africa” is available at: http://plan-international.org/about-plan/resources/publications/education/outside-the-circle. The research was led by ICDR’s founding Executive Director, Penny Parnes, in collaboration with OT alumni Janet Njelesani and Goli Hashemi, ICDR Coordinator Cathy Cameron, along with Donald Njelesani, Danielle Richard and Heather Keachie. The story was picked up and reported by TIME, Al Jazeera, ABC News, The Globe and Mail, and Huffington Post. The report was also picked up in some of the world’s biggest wire services such as the Associated Press and the Reuters health wire syndicate. The story was also featured in UofT Medicine Magazine at http://medicine.utoronto.ca/news/opening-circle. Congratulations,

Penny and team!

About the Author: Stephanie is the Director of the International Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation (ICDR) and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy.

2014 marks the 10th anniversary of ICDR! Stay tuned for news of celebrations to honour the achievements of students, alumni, faculty and global health partners.

15

Five new publications by ICDR membersThis has been a productive year for ICDR faculty and students (many of whom are now alumni).

Cameron D, Cockburn L, Nixon SA, Garcia L, Leotaud J, MacPherson K, Mashaka P, Mlay R, Parnes P, Wango J, Williams T. Global Partnerships for International Fieldwork in Occupational Therapy: Reflection and Innovation. Occupational Therapy International. 2013;20(2):88-96.

In partnership with a team from ICDR and Lesley Garcia and Jacqui Leotaud of Trinidad, Peter Mashaka and Ruth Mlay of Tanzania, and Julius Wango of Cameroon.

Cleaver S, Nixon SA. A scoping study of ten years of published literature on community-based rehabilitation. Disability and Rehabilitation. In press.

Shaun Cleaver is a PhD student in GDRS conducting his dissertation in Zambia. He is a member of ICDR-Zambia and ICDR-Communications. Stephanie Nixon is ICDR Director, and a member of ICDR-Zambia.

Haro A, Knight B, Ahluwalia P, Hicks E, Cameron D, Nixon SA. Becoming an occupational therapist: impact of international fieldwork placements on clinical practice. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy. In press.

Adriana Haro and Brittany Knight are OT alumni who conducted this study as part of the OT degrees. They were supported by PT Puja Ahluwalia and OT alum Emma Hicks, and co-supervised by Deb Cameron and Stephanie Nixon.

Cassady C, Mehru R, Chan C, Engelhardt J, Fraser M, Nixon SA. Thinking beyond our borders: investigating ideal competencies for Canadian physiotherapists working in resource-poor countries. Physiotherapy Canada. In press.

Christina Casiddy, Rehana Mehru, Carmen Chan and Julie Engelhardt are PT alumni who conducted this study as part of the PT degrees. They were supervised by Stephanie Nixon and Michelle Fraser, who is the Chair of the CPA’s Global Health Division.

Wickenden A, Nixon SA, Yoshida K. Exploring the impact of the intersection of HIV, disability and gender on the sexualities of women in Zambia. African Journal of Disability 2013;2(1),Art.#50,8.

Anna Wickenden conducted this analysis as part of her Master’s degree at the UK’s Institute of Development Studies. She was co-supervised by Karen Yoshida and Stephanie Nixon using data from an ICDR-Zambia study.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are approximately 600,000,000 people living with a disability in the world, with 80% living in low-income countries. In many parts of Africa, individuals living with disability experience stigma, isolation, and negative attitudes from members of their community. One country where there is tremendous need for rehabilitation programs and health promotion is Cameroon. Although progress is being made, there is much that can be done to improve the lives of individuals living with a disability in Cameroon, particularly in the North West region. I first realized this fact whilst completing a fieldwork placement in the North West region of Cameroon as a U of T occupational therapy Masters student affiliated with U of T and International Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation (ICDR). During this time I witnessed firsthand the utter disparity that exists between the citizens and systems of our vast and varied globe. ICDR-Cameroon has three main and overlapping components: community development, research, and education. Composed of faculty members, health professionals, students and U of T Alumni, ICDR-Cameroon facilitates program development and implementation alongside local Cameroonian community groups via committee meetings, discussion forums, and travel to Cameroon. Unlike in many other parts of the world, we are very fortunate in high income countries. Devices, technologies, and healthcare often get taken for granted and overlooked in the hurried shuffle of our everyday lives. We crave speed,

efficiency, and often cast a frown upon "backward" ingenuity, which is rooted in simplicity. But for those with limited resources, even the simplest tweak can be a huge blessing and offer a life-altering solution to a once desperate problem. During my time working with ICDR in Cameroon, I came across this truth time and time again. One of the most memorable clients, Ellie (not her real name), once a healthy, outgoing and lively student, developed heterotrophic ossification after contracting meningitis that left her unable to walk or stand independently. Despite being severely restricted in her mobility and function, she was being

discharged from the hospital and returning home, where she only had a pit toilet. As a patient in a system that was already strained and financially limited, the idea of community care for this young woman seemed impossible. Her mother was expected to give up her livelihood and take on the role of a round-the-clock caregiver. To alleviate some of the caregiver strain on Ellie’s mother, while allowing Ellie herself to sustain as much of her independence as possible, two of my student colleagues collaborated with a hospital technician to create a commode for Ellie to bring home with her. After hours of brainstorming, they found a second-hand folding steel chair in the local market: a

household item for some, but a life-changer for Ellie.

...You can find the rest of this article on page 20 of the electronic version of this publication on the PT/OT Alumni Website.

Special Highlight - ICDR Cameroon, by Jaymie-Lyn Labelle OT’13

Wheelchair created by SAJOCAH Staff and past U of T students

Lynn Cockburn, Julius Wango, SAJOCAH Staff and past U of T students

In October 2013 the Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Alumni Association hosted a fundraising evening at the Famous People Players (FPP) Dinner / Theatre. 

It was an evening of good food and magical black light performances by the challenged but very talented cast.  For we, rehabilitation professionals, it could not have been a more meaningful experience.  It is definitely something we hope to repeat in the future to stimulate further socialization while we support our Alumni and the very worthwhile FPP.

2014 PT and OT Spring Reunion Classes ending in 4 or 9

 Friday May 30th O’Gradys Pub 7-10pm. All UofT OT and PT grads are welcome, please come

we would love to see you and chat!!!!

Saturday, May 31st, 9-12pm, 500 University Ave. Breakfast, the Annual Meeting, Presentation of the Alumni Awards, Guest Speaker and tours of the Rehabilitation Building. Cost: $15

 Go to http://springreunion.utoronto.ca for more details and to register for the events!

Email: morgan.tilley@utotonto.ca or ptotalumni.facmed@utoronto.ca Phone: (416) 978-1820

Would you like to reconnect with classmates or would like a class list to help with reunion planning? Contact Morgan Tilley, Alumni Relations Coordinator at (416) 978-3588 or morgan.tilley@utoronto.ca

16

We would like to thank everyone on this list who has made a pledge to OT, PT, or the Rehab Sciences Sector between January 1st and December 31st, 2013!

If you’d like to make a gift, please visit the Rehabilitation Sciences Sector’s online giving page (donate.utoronto.ca) to make a donation to either Physical Therapy or Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. Funds raised are used to support students through bursaries and scholarships and also to fund travel to national and international conferences and clinical placements.

To learn more about different giving options, or if you are interested in making a gift of securities or a planned gift, please contact the Heather Yearwood, Senior Development Officer at (416) 978-5564 or heather.yearwood@utoronto.ca.

17

MANY

THANKS

Sandra L. Abraham Joan Cracknell Gwendolyn J. Hoover Margaret L. McMulkin Frieda ShermanPatricia R. Abram Jane G. Dale Diana H. Hopkins-Rosseel Frances J. McNaughton Karl SkierszkanBarbara J. Alguire Carolyn M. Davis Nancy Hurlburt Patricia D. McPhail M. Fearnley SmithKatharine B. Anderson Diane L. Davis Susan K. Hurley Helen F. Mierzwa Syliva Budovitch SoicherLydia I. Andrews Victoria J. Dawes Patricia M. Idenouye Linda Moore Kathryn E. SteckleyG. Margaret Armbruster Susan E. Dineen Martin Imrisek Leslee M. Mordaunt Nancy Stefanyk Esther E. Atkin Sandra Z. Doblinger Judith D. Irwin Marie O. Morin Jane P. StephensonRuth Babcock Susan M. Dosman Leslie S. Iskander Barbara A. M .Morris Margaret J. StevensDoris Bailey Anne C. Downie Margaret J. Jackes Ruth H. Morton Margaret H. StoneLynne Gay Balfour Mary E. Dunn Susan Jaglal Gail Mueller Jean B. SutherlandMarjorie K. Banks Marie P. Eason Klatt Maryann Jefferies G. George Muirhead Margaret L. TimbergDavid and Gwendolyn Bell Sarah Eby Lynn Jensen Duy Thien Nguyen Jennifer L. TookeDorothy E. Bennett Nancy E. Egan Sandra J. Johnson Marilyn A Niess Ruth E. Torrey-BrockieLinda M. Bennett Cathy Evans Joan Johnston Betty-May Ormiston Elizabeth A. TorribleLinda J. Biddle Penny Evenden Maranatha S. Joos Beverley Secord O'Sullivan Susan TrackPaula Blackstein-Hirsch Joseph Federico Constance L. C. Keen-McIlwrick Jane C. Palmer Barry TrenthamVictoria J. Boase Susan J. Ferguson Trishan M. Kelso Joan C. Pape Christine S. UrbanM. Catherine Boddy Eleanor M. Finlayson Louise Killens David R. Paradi Marguerite E. VarrassoElizabeth Bracht Linda M. Finn Bonnie Kirsh Kirsten Pavelich Molly VerrierEllen E. Bradey Pat Fisher Judith I. K. Knaack Maxine L. Peters Helen WardJocelyne Brault Mary Fogarty Mary Margaret Koreen Linda Phaneuf Carolyn A. WebsterChristine L. Brenchley Julie Frame Audrey M. Kouyoumdjian Jo-Anne Piccinin O. Joan WebsterKelly M. Brewer Arthur H. Fraser Mary E. Lane Jan A. Polgar Sybil M. WellsHeather D. Brien Lois A. Fricker Elizabeth A Langlois Dana Prutschi Catherine WhitePatricia K. Brodie Judith Friedland Yung Shong Lee Ruth P. Armstrong Beverley A WhittakerE. Diane Brokenshire Noreen P. Fyffe Joanne Legros-Kelly Carol Ann Puri Lisa WickersonAnne L. Brown Joy D. Galloway Kristin LeRoy Arlene D. Quackenbush Frances WierEsther Burack May K. Gardiner Karen L. Llanos Carrie L. Racher Linda Claire WilkinsonDeb Cameron Diane Gasner Susan M. Lott June B. Rattray Donalda A. WilliamsMarya B. Carr Emily L. Grant Shirley A. Lupton Elizabeth M. Reid Marjorie A. WilsonLily Chan Iris Greenspoon A. Margaret MacLure Mea M. C. Renahan Evelyn E. WolfNancy P. Christie Beverly Hall Noreen J. Manger Lynda R Richardson Ann L. WolfeMary B. Clarkson Dianne E. M. Hauri Mary H. Martin Margaret Jane Rodd Mary M. WoodFrances J. Cleave Beth S. Haworth Allison Martins Judith M. Russell Joan WrightCheryl A. Cooper Sandra M. Henderson Mavis A. Mason Mary D. Sabo Karen A. YanthaJuliette E. Cooper Carol A. Hennigar Evelyn J. McComb Margaret E. Schmidt Margaret L. YoungLillian Cooper Carolyn Hepburn Fiona E. McGaw Patricia Schweitzer Natalie A. ZaraskaJane Copeland Dpot Rosalie Herschorn Linda A. McIlwain Luella M. Shank Judith L. ZelmanovitsLynn Corbey Lesley A. Heysel Allan B. McMillan Margaret Shaw

18

In Memoriam BARBARA JANE WORTH, BSc (OT), OT Reg.(Ont.) 1952- 2013

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Barbara Jane Worth. Barbara was an esteemed alumna, who had a very distinguished career and contributed significantly to the regulation of OT in Ontario. She graduated from one of our first BScOT classes at the University of Toronto (1975). Following graduation, Barbara joined McMaster University Medical Centre. During her 20 plus years of clinical care, Barbara took on many academic and managerial roles. She was the Director of Complex Continuing Care in her last role within the Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation, before taking a position at the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario (COTO). Barbara was also active within the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT), including contributing to the design and testing of the CAOT Certification Exam. At COTO, Barbara held many positions, including serving as the President from 1999-2000, and COTO Registrar from 2000 to 2013. Most recently, Barbara had an influential role of spear-heading initiatives that addressed the issues of cross province transportability of OT skills and internationally educated OTs.

Barbara will be missed dearly by her family, friends, colleagues, and former patients and students. Barbara will always be remembered for her many achievements in the profession of OT.

MARLENE MCLEOD ECKSTRAND, P&OT (1934 - 2012)Marlene passed away Feb 2012, at home in Ottawa. Marlene was born in 1934 in Kirkland Lake, On. She was part of a clinic group in P&OT, the clinic was made up of Marlene, Josie Kruzel, Marilyn Heinbuch(all deceased). Joan Leman, Joyce Hillier Wallace, Marie Hodgins Bodrug, and Barb Legge Miller took the train to Ottawa for Marlene's service. The family did a wonderful job of remembering Marlene and her beloved animals. Marlene and her husband Roger lived in various parts of the world, consequently Marlene's work history is broad. 1962-1963 Peter Bent Brigham hospital Boston Mass, USA, 1963-1976 Noranda, Chile and 1976-1982 St Vincent Hospital, Ottawa, 1982-1997 Rehab Centre, Ottawa. Marlene is fondly remembered by her clinic group in P&OT and we kept in touch with several reunions and weekends in Muskoka over the years and a bike trip thru Vermont between first and second year. It is safe to say we will miss her and her comical critique of life. (written by Barb Miller)

Dear Alumni:

The Alumni Achievement Award was established in 1995, and awarded first at the AGM in June 1996. The Award acknowledges graduates who have made an exceptional contribution as a member of the Physical Therapy or Occupational Therapy professions. Alumni or members of the public may nominate a University of Toronto graduate in Physical Therapy or Occupational Therapy for this award. The year 2014 will mark the 19th anniversary of the Achievement Award.

Beginning in 1996 an award has been given to one alumnus/a from Physical Therapy and one alumnus/a from Occupational Therapy each year. The areas of achievement for consideration for this Award are based on achievements in any three of the following categories:

• Scholarly Activity in clinical, community, or academic environment • Therapeutic Practice• Education (of PT/OT students, (at university or college level) health professionals, general public• Administration• Political activity and advocacy for the profession of PT/OT.

The Achievement Award Committee will contact all nominators to acknowledge receipt of nominations. The Selection Committee may contact nominees to obtain additional information related to their nomination. Please include phone and/or email contact information of the nominee in your nomination. A CV and/or comprehensive information providing specifics of the nominee’s achievements is REQUIRED to give the Achievement Award Committee a more complete idea of the nominee.

If you require assistance in completing a nomination, or have additional questions please contact us and we will be pleased to assist you.

All information provided will be used exclusively for Award determination purposes.

To contact us or forward nominations:

Alumni Achievement AwardPT & OT Alumni AssociationUniversity of Toronto500 University Avenue, Room 160Toronto, ON, M5G 1V7

Phone: 416-978-1820 ptotalumni.facmed@utoronto.ca www.rehab.utoronto.ca

AWARD NOMINATION FORM

NOMINEE Name________________________Address:_________________________________________________________________________Telephone:(H)_________________(W)________________________E- mail: ______________________Year of Graduation_____________PT_________ OT_____________

The Nominator should describe the outstanding contributions in each category checked, in a covering letter. The more comprehensive the information the better.

NOMINATOR Name________________________Address:_________________________________________________________________________Telephone:(H)_________________(W)________________________E- mail: ______________________

Scholarly ActivityTherapeutic PracticeEducationAdministrationPolitical Activity/Advocacy

PT Valedictorian Address 2013 continued from page 11...

Moving on the final category – the right leadership – this took the shape of key supports, key lessons and key council.Personally, I had several humbling moments over the course of the program; I was treated through each with support, sympathy and strategy. On behalf of everyone, countless emails were answered to address countless questions; feedback sessions were held in the interest of improving curricula; extra tutorials or lunchtime recaps were held to hammer home hard to handle concepts. Finally, just to finish this point, we weren’t just supported. We were respected. I found this tremendously motivating. From Day 1, relentlessly through to the very end, no matter the prof, the TA, the visiting clinician, the guest lecturer, we were deemed ‘colleagues’. And for that, we are all very honored. Now, amidst all the support and respect, we were taught! Some key lessons from key disciplines included:

From Cardioresp:- Bronchial breath sounds, are neither increased nor decreased, they simply are or are not. - Diet coke can get you through the day!- Key Analogies included: a pair of saggy pantyhose = chronic obstructive lung disease or emphysema lungs while Dina sitting on my chest =restrictive lung disease

From Neuro: Now we’ve arrived at the interactive component of the speech or viewed differently a complimentary postural education/awareness session:

Can everyone please slouch in your seats? Did you feel your pelvis move back? That is what we call the all-too-common PPT, or the posterior pelvic tilt.Now can everyone sit up nice and straight? Did you feel your pelvis move forward? That folks that in marked contrast, is all-too-strived-for APT, or anterior pelvic tilt.Now can everyone shift your weight onto your buttock? Take a look at your left side – that is shortening, while the left side, the left side is elongating!And yes, for a good few months, each and every one of us could be found ourselves or coaxing each other into any or all of these positions, as form the fundamentals and foundations of Neuro!

From MSK: And now the second and final interactive component, can everyone please make a fist and hold it up. Now make a C with your other hand, and cup it over your fist. For several months we could also be found in this position, as Rock and Roll Robyn coached us through the arthro-kinematics and osteo-kinematics of every joint. MSK also taught us that the success of a joint mobilization is strongly correlated to your soundtrack selection. Further, from a peer leadership level, we had council - Thank-you to all our council members, especially of course our fearless leaders, Nadir and Amy, our President and Vice President, who consistently created, let alone seized opportunities to go the extra mile for us as a class. Turning to now, for me, key supports provided opportunities for learning and personal growth; as for key lessons, they stick in my head and Dina, well Dina will forever have a special place on my chest. Finally, I, particularly in this new grad phase, I am tremendously grateful to know that I am an email or phone call away from the counsel of respected and wise clinicians and professors.

And there you have it folks – the right program, right people, right leadership.

Before closing: -To faculty and staff – thank-you for sharing your passion, your intellect, your laughs and your lessons.-To members of the PT family – it has been a tremendous honor to speak today on your behalf, thank-you for being kind and colorful characters, full of motivation and smarts, generousness and genuineness, thanks for being there for me and thanks for being there for each other. -To our immediate family and loved ones – thank you for sharing this special day with us. In many ways it’s your special day as well! So congrats! I would of course especially like to thank my parents, who are here, Kathleen and Francis, from Kippens, NL. I don’t think they or I really expected this day, and it’s been so special to have my two worlds collide. I’m so grateful for your unconditional love and support and I’m thrilled that you could both be here today for the great meeting of the families.In closing:“We know it. We just need the confidence.” That goes for Sunday, and for the remainder of our careers. That being said we must never get complacent or slack, as lifelong learning is our responsibility to ourselves and to our clients. We need to remember or at least remind each other that it’s ok not to know. We have the tools to tackle whatever ‘depends’ lands in our laps, and a solid strategy is sticking with what we do know and branching from there. Now if there are no questions, I would like to thank you all for your cooperation and participation. And, although we are indeed independent to transfer into the working world, and safe for discharge, I would still recommend frequent follow-ups.

ICDR Cameroon, continued from page 15...

Together they were able to cut a hole in the chair and turn it into a portable commode. And so we learned as occupational therapy students, and continue to learn as U of T Alumni, that there is beauty and potential in just about everything, when it is viewed in a different light. ICDR-Cameroon developed and maintained partnerships with numerous organizations in the North West. For example, they are helping to develop a sustainable occupational therapy program at St. Joseph's Children and Adult's Home (SAJOCAH), a community rehabilitation hospital. They are also developing programs and completing research alongside the Bamenda Coordinating Unit for Associations of Persons with Disabilities to support disabled people’s organizations and individuals living with disability residing in the North West. They worked with colleagues to establish the Centre for Inclusion Studies, a unique centre in the country. Finally, ICDR-Cameroon is currently in the process of collaborating with the new Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Bamenda to develop a visiting scholar program and to improve student education resources. While striving towards community development, ICDR-Cameroon initiated and hosted annual conferences on disability and rehabilitation, in collaboration with local organizations in Bamenda, and sometimes with the Centre for Inclusion Studies. These conferences provide individuals living with disability, health care professionals and others who are interested in disability and rehabilitation an opportunity to come together and share their

20

21

experiences and research. They also allow for professional presentation of work. Most significantly, it is inspiring and motivating for individuals to hear that they are not alone in their challenges. Leo (not his real name), a

young individual, who experienced a spinal

cord injury, attended the conference and explained that being able to connect to individuals living with the same impairment was life-changing. Speaking with people who had experienced a spinal cord injury many years before and knowing that they were still leading a fulfilling life provided him with a sense of hope. The 7th annual conference held in 2012 was honored with the presence of the Canadian High Commissioner of Cameroon, Mr. Benoit Pierre, Laramée and attendees had the privilege of sharing their ideas and aspirations with him. The theme of the 8th annual conference, held in November 2013 was "Break Barriers, Open Doors: Adapting Sports for an Inclusive Society for All". The conference focused on encouraging all individuals regardless of disabilities to be active and engage in meaningful pursuits through the use of inclusive and adapted sports. ICDR-Cameroon has conducted qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research in a number of areas including: women and disability, prevalence of disability and HIV/AIDS and disability. Future research aims to continue to improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities and their communities, to examine the development and impact of assistive devices, develop tools to measure the impact of assistive devices, and to carry out further research on gender and disability. Best-practice guidelines and evidence-based treatment are imperative for occupational therapy, and other rehabilitation programs. ICDR-Cameroon has been working on best practice projects for a variety of issues including stroke, visual impairment, hearing impairment, vocational rehabilitation and family centered care. These projects focus on providing best practice guidelines grounded in research that are appropriate for the local environment. Members of ICDR-Cameroon have worked together to create a Mental Health Resource Package that outlines the position taken by ICDR-Cameroon as well as their vision for mental health work within the North West. The package summarizes the beliefs and values held by the group in the area of mental health as well as how they plan to incorporate these beliefs and values into everyday practice. Personal vignettes are incorporated into the resource package to shed light on the experiences and challenges individuals living with mental health face in the North West. By generating greater awareness and acceptance, the group hopes to be able to support individuals living with mental illness to seek the services they require. ICDR-Cameroon has supported student placements, primarily occupational therapy students, as well as public

health and medical students, to Cameroon since 2004. Students have divided their time between two organizations: SAJOCAH, where the students provide direct intervention and the Centre for Inclusion Studies, where the students have roles in community development work. In low-income countries, this kind of collaborative placement fosters innovation and creativity when working in a rehabilitation center, and allows for input into the creation of roles for occupational therapy in new settings. The learning process is reciprocal. One individual who was helped by U of T students was a man who experienced a stroke. He was left unable to dress himself and unhappy with the idea that his wife would have to put his socks and shoes on for him every day. This sudden lack of functional independence left him feeling quite distraught; he not only suffered a blow to his overall wellbeing, but also to his sense of self. The students collaborated with the client and identified dressing as a goal. With materials that the students brought from Canada, and some common kitchen equipment, the students replicated a long-handled shoehorn and a Sock-Aid, an assistive device that allows one to independently don their socks. When the man returned the following week, students coached him how to use the assistive equipment. He was thrilled with being able to dress himself independently. Despite its success, ICDR-Cameroon has and continues to struggle with barriers. The financial constraints of working internationally and the lack of regular funding has been an ongoing challenge for the group. It has not always been easy

to maintain a partnership with local organizations given the geographical distance, cultural differences, and inconsistent access to technology. Despite the challenges, ICDR has been able to succeed and accomplish several of its initiatives. Of particular note, many individuals living in the North West reported that there has been a reduction in stigma and marginalization, and the Annual Conferences have been beneficial in increasing awareness about disability and allowing individuals the opportunity to share their ideas and research with one another. ICDR-Cameroon supported the

development of disability organizations throughout the region. They continue to address disability issues and empower

individuals living with disability. To continue making strides in progress, the ICDR will continue to see challenges as opportunities. Whether it is through supporting international student placements in Cameroon, developing resource packages and best practice guidelines, assisting in hosting conferences and workshops, or supporting the development of disability organizations, ICDR-Cameroon and its affiliates are doing tremendous work. There is no better way, in my experience, to get involved and put all of the information you have acquired during your studies to a “new sort of use”- one that demands out-of-the box thinking, a high degree of adaptability, a dose of humility, and the delivery of a level of care that far exceeds what you could have expected.

ReferencesKiani, S. (2009). Women with disabilities in the North West province of Cameroon: resilient and deserving of greater attention. Disability and Society, 24(4), 517-531. doi : 10.1080/09687590902879205.

Faculty of Health Sciences at the Bamenda University

SAJOCAH Canteen and Shoe Making Workshop