Special Events
Wednesday, April 25
6:30 pm–9:30 pm
Doctoral Network Reception and Annual Meeting (CE)
Everything You Wanted To Know About Working on a Doctorate
Moderator: Winifred Dunn PhD, OTR, FAOTA, University of Kansas
Speakers: Max Ito, PhD, OTR/L, Nova Southeastern University; Jane Bear Lehman, PhD, OTR, New York University; and Shelly J Lane, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, Virginia Commonwealth University
The panel will provide attendees with helpful ideas on all the issues involved with pursuing a doctoral degree including the rewards and realities of study, qualities to look for in a doctoral program, the mentoring process, staying on track through the process, and career goals and making them happen. Informal roundtable mentoring sessions will begin at 6:30 pm, followed by the formal reception and meeting at 7:30 pm. The informal mentoring is optional and participants will be provided with additional details prior to coming to the event.
$30 per person. Includes refreshments.
7:30 pm–9:00 pm
Special Interest Sections (SIS) Networking Reception
| New and Seasoned SIS Participants! Get your Conference experience off to a great start with this favorite informal event. Take the opportunity to meet and network with both new and experienced colleagues who share your specialty interests. Meet your SIS leadership and explore your own SIS leadership opportunities. Each SIS has a designated gathering area at the reception so you can enjoy networking at its best. Join us! |
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Admission to this event is FREE! Cash bar and free snacks will be available.
Thursday, April 26
7:15 am–7:45 am
First-Timers' Orientation
Get the tips you need to make the most of your first AOTA Annual Conference & Expo during this fast paced 30 minute presentation! Join us at the First-Timers' Orientation where the AOTA Director of Conferences will be on hand to help guide you through the extensive programming options and answer all of your questions.
Included with Conference registration.
7:30 am–9:00 am
International Breakfast (CE)
The World Report on Disability: An Agenda for the Profession
Sharon Brintnell, Dip P & OT, BOT, MSc, FCAOT, CDMP
Spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank (WB) and published in 2011, the World Report on Disability (Report) is a seminal document that for the first time presents disability in a comprehensive global context.
One billion people, approximately 15 % of the world's population, live with some form of activity limitation, and 80% are in low income countries. The World Report on Disability notes the responsibilities of global professions to be leaders in illuminating the complexities and universality of disability in today's world, and the great need for partnerships among organizations and our community at large.
This presentation highlights the key elements of the World Report on Disability and aligns its principles and recommendations with the WFOT position on occupational justice and human rights. Participants will be encouraged to recognize the social determinants of health and consider partnering with WFOT to ensure that the work the Report challenges us to face begins first at home.
$35 per person (includes breakfast)
4:00 pm–5:30 pm
Welcome Ceremony and Keynote Address
AOTA President Florence Clark will officially open the 92nd Annual Conference & Expo and introduce keynote speaker Joseph Coughlin. After the Welcome Ceremony attendees will meet in the Exhibit Hall for the Expo Grand Opening and Welcome Reception.
Keynote Speaker
Joseph F. Coughlin, PhD
Director, Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab
Joseph F. Coughlin is the Director of MIT AgeLab and a world-renowned researcher, teacher, author, and "…one of America's 12 pioneers inventing the future of aging…" Attendees will hear about his remarkable research and its outcomes and expectations, and the translation of research into practical application for occupational therapy and our aging clients.
Included with Conference registration.
5:30 pm–9:00 pm
Expo Grand Opening and Reception
The Expo Opening Reception abounds with opportunities to socialize with new and old friends, enjoy delicious hors d'oeuvres and drinks, meet AOTA leaders and staff in the Marketplace and Member Resource Center, and explore hundreds of great exhibits.
Included with Conference registration.
8:30 pm–10:30 pm
Students Un-conferenced
After the first full day of conference, students get together for a fun meet-and-greet, networking, and entertainment. This special event is available exclusively to students who are registered for Conference.
Friday, April 27
7:30 am–9:00 am
18th Annual AOTF Breakfast with a Scholar (CE)
Lex Frieden, MA, LLD
Evaluating the Americans with Disabilities Act: An Accounting of Progress
In this informative annual breakfast event, Professor Lex Frieden will reflect on the implementation and aftermath of the Americans with Disability Act. Drawing on his professional and personal experience as an advocate, scholar, and leader in the disability rights community, Lex Frieden will discuss the meaningful advances and the current threats to policies and practices that have had an impact on the lives of persons with disability. He will particularly address how health care reform and the economic crisis create consequences that can threaten the gains achieved during the past twenty years.
Mr. Frieden, a quadriplegic due to spinal cord injury, played an instrumental role in developing and implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act. Currently, he is Professor of Biomedical Informatics and Professor of Rehabilitation at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and Adjunct Professor of Rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine.
Mr. Frieden directs the Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) Program at TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas. ILRU is a research, training, and technical assistance program on independent living for people with disabilities and seniors.
$50 per person. Includes breakfast.
Proceeds help support Foundation Research, Scholarship and Leadership Programs.
11:15 am–12:00 pm
Presidential Address (CE)
Beyond High Definition: Attitude and Evidence Bringing OT in HD-3D
Florence Clark, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Florence Clark's term as AOTA President has thus far focused on the paths to building confidence, power, and competitive excellence, all of which describe the attitude that will be necessary for transforming occupational therapy in the 21st century. Like any good transformation allegory, however, fully realizing the AOTA Centennial Vision will require more than just an internal attitude adjustment. Now more than ever, a solid grounding in the external evidence base is an absolute must. Just as high–definition three–dimension (HD-3D) picture technology harnesses the human brain's ability to perceive depth by merging two similar images into a unified whole, OT in HD-3D describes the way in which today's occupational therapy practitioners are challenged to simultaneously "see" the convergence of an empowered attitude and scientific evidence base within their everyday practices.
Included with Conference registration.
12:30 pm–1:30 pm
Special Interest Section (SIS) Roundtable Discussions (CE)
Each of the 11 Special Interest Sections, the Hand and Private Practice
Subsections, and Driving and Home Modification Networks will hold small group discussions, extended to one hour by popular demand!
Current topics in specialty areas of practice will engage participants and provide you with the opportunity to ask questions and share your experiences. Choose a discussion that relates to your practice today or one that addresses something new that you've been curious about. Topics will be listed in advance on the Web site and in the onsite Program Guide. Seating is very limited to allow for close interaction between all participants.
Tickets are free and included with Conference registration, but they must be obtained in advance at the Information Booth only for the session that you wish to attend.
2:00 – 5:00 pm
AOTF Research Colloquium 2012 (CE)
Translating Cognitive Research into Clinical Practice
Moderator: Lisa Tabor Connor, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis
Featured Panelists: Carolyn Baum, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, Washington University in St. Louis; Naomi Josman, PhD, OTR, University of Haifa; Joan Toglia, PhD, MA, OTR, Mercy College, New York
The 2012 Research Colloquium will focus on the current state of evidence for cognitive assessments and interventions, what needs to be done from a research perspective and how to implement what is known in clinical practice. This event will extend the colloquium's tradition of featuring state of the science research with abundant opportunity for lively discussion among presenters, scholars, clinicians, and students in attendance.
$35 per person.
2:00 pm–3:00 pm
Town Hall Meeting (CE)
Centennial Vision Progress and Issues Facing the Profession
AOTA Leaders
In 2006, AOTA leaders had the extraordinary foresight to launch a Centennial Vision journey with towering goals to empower the profession to fulfill its potential and advance it through advocacy and public awareness. Strategic plans for practice, research, and education were mapped out clearly to reach those goals. Now, reaching the six year mark on the journey, your AOTA leaders today want to meet with you in a special Town Hall Meeting to share the substantial progress we have made and the challenges the profession is facing now. This is an excellent opportunity to ask questions, share perspectives, and contribute ideas about the road we must take now and beyond occupational therapy's centennial anniversary in 2017. AOTA wants your feedback. Please take the time to attend this vital session!
Included with Conference registration.
3:30 pm-5:00 pm
Centennial Vision Session (SC 226)
(AOTA) Beyond 2017: A Toolkit for Advancing the Centennial Vision in High Definition
Virginia (Ginny) Stoffel, PhD, OT, BCMH, FAOTA; Timothy M. Kennedy, MS, OTR/L; Gerry E. Conti, PhD, OTR/L; Robert C. Ferguson, OTR/L
The Centennial Vision serves as an inspiring plan for the profession as it ends its first century. Building capacity in High Definition beyond 2017 will be the focus of this session. Grassroots efforts in having a strong voice in public policy and legislation, interprofessional research using technology to solve everyday life challenges, and building a Centennial Culture across all practitioners and organizations will provide concrete and inspiring models that can be replicated across the country.
This interactive session will begin with presentations by the panelists: a NY State Senator whose legislative efforts reflect the values and expertise of a powerful public servant occupational therapist; an occupational therapy researcher whose collaborative efforts with engineers will highlight future roles for occupational therapy in the application of digital modeling of people with severe movement limitations; and a clinical specialist whose efforts at creating organizational change embedding the Centennial Vision in daily practice is building strategies and tools embodying a new Centennial Culture. Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with the panel and each other to identify individual and organizational opportunities, strategies and tools which contribute to a "powerful, widely-recognized, science-driven and evidence-based profession with a globally-connected and diverse workforce, meeting society's occupational needs."'
Included with Conference registration.
5:15 pm–6:30 pm
Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecture (CE)
PromOTing Occupational Therapy: Words, Images & Actions
Karen Jacobs, EdD, OTR/L, CPE, FAOTA
To be successful in promoting occupational therapy, each of us must make a commitment to communicate our value in words, images, and actions. More importantly, how we communicate the importance of occupational therapy to society must be meaningful. Inter-professional theories of health communication and promotion will be used to analyze how we have promoted our profession in the past and to generate strategies for promoting science-driven, evidence-based best practices in the future.
Included with Conference registration.
8:00 pm–11:00 pm
2012 Foundation Gala
Dancing With the Stars (Indy-Style)
Grand Ballroom, the Westin Indianapolis
Join the American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF) at the Westin Indianapolis Hotel for this elegant annual celebration. Feast on sumptuous foods and enjoy connecting with friends and colleagues. Then, cast your vote as dance teams compete for bragging rights in AOTF's 3rd Annual "Dancing with the Stars" style competition. Vote for your favorite dance team at the Gala or online at www.aotf.org.
$115.00/person; $45.00/person (Student Discounted Rate)
Your participation in the AOTF Gala supports the Foundation's programs to advance occupational therapy education, research and leadership and is tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law.
Saturday, April 28
8:30 am–9:30 am
10:00 am–11:00 am
SIS "Buzz" Sessions (CE)
Conversations That Matter
Back by Popular Demand! The SISs have selected a topic of current interest in their practice area for a brief presentation and facilitated discussion. The focus of these sessions will be to provide lots of opportunity for active participation by attendees with questions, answers and discussions to promote interactive learning amongst colleagues.
Included with Conference registration.
11:15 am–12:00 pm
Plenary Session (CE)
Going the Distance: Army Occupational Therapy in Today's Garrison and Deployed Environments
Robinette J. Amaker, Colonel, PhD, OTR/L, CHT, FAOTA
Academy of Health Sciences, Joint Base San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
Army occupational therapy has transformed in the past ten years and this Plenary Session will enlighten you to the new developments in behavioral health, mild traumatic brain injury, amputee rehabilitation, and polytrauma. You will learn about the new concussion care centers in Afghanistan that are run by occupational therapy practitioners, and the great training that Army OTs and OTAs receive to make sure they are prepared to take care of our Wounded Warriors and beneficiaries. Please join us for this exciting unopposed plenary as we learn how Army OT's go the distance! There will be surprise co-presenters!
Included with Conference registration.
12:15 pm–1:15 pm
AOTA's 92nd Annual Business Meeting
Join AOTA's Board of Directors and other Association leaders for the Annual Business Meeting. Learn about the Association's progress toward the Centennial Vision and how you can become involved in our continued progress. Sit with colleagues from your state and proudly announce "Present" during roll call, then feel free to come to a microphone to ask questions and give feedback. Your Association needs you to help create a positive future for the profession. Come join the excitement!
Included with Conference registration.
5:30 pm–6:30 pm
Annual Awards & Recognition Ceremony
AOTA and AOTF take great pride in honoring our colleagues who have made significant contributions to the profession. Join friends, family, and colleagues as we gather to recognize and pay tribute to those whose achievements have enriched the field of occupational therapy. This important ceremony provides a wonderful opportunity for each of us to reconnect with our profession and reflect not only on the accomplishments of others, but our own capacity for achievement. All are welcome!
Open to the public.
6:45 pm–7:45 pm
Annual Awards & Recognition Reception
Our honored award recipients are ready to celebrate! Please join them and all your colleagues to enjoy an evening of mingling and sharing of good wishes at this wonderful event.
$35.00 per person (Includes hors d'oeuvers and cash bar.)
Tech Day (CE)
Attend one or all three highly popular Tech Day sessions that will allow you to experience hands-on, interactive exploration of high and low technology products to enhance client participation in occupations across the lifespan. Sessions will address technology applications for children and youth and adults of all ages. Products and software will be demonstrated by the presenters. Attendees will benefit from hands-on learning on a variety of topics at multiple work stations. Up to 10 different stations will be set up during each of three 1.5 hour sessions. Due to the popularity of Tech Day – look for a new room layout and signage that will allow you to get to the products you want.
Included with Conference registration.
7:30 pm–10:30 pm
AOTPAC Night: KaraOTe Idol IV
Accelerate your experience—rev up for Indianapolis with KaraOTe Idol IV!
Occupational therapy has talent, and we've seen it first hand at our annual KaraOTe Idol contests. Up-shift and show us your singing and performing talent in 2012. New entrants and past entrants are all welcome.
Join your friends and colleagues and cheer for our contestants. AOTPAC's annual celebration and contest mixed in with dancing and music. Individual and group entrants are welcome! We encourage students to put together a group and show your school spirit.
Limited spots, so sign up early! Send your name or the name of your group to aotpac@aota.org. Student groups, please include your school name.
New this year! We are holding four spots for stand-up-comics. Make us laugh, we need it (let's keep this PG-13)!
Your ticket is a contribution to AOTPAC for our political purposes. Contributions are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.
OT/OTA: $40; Students: $25 (Includes snacks; cash bar.)
Sunday, April 29, 2011
8:00 am - 11:00 am
AOTF Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) (CE)
WS416
Speakers: Andrea Bilics, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA; John White, PhD, OTR/L and Ann B. James, PhD
The AOTF Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) program will continue its focus on ways to foster collaborative research that provides evidence for best practices in education. Dr. Andrea Bilics, Dr. John White, and Dr. Ann B. James will be facilitators for this important session, which will consist of short presentations, discussion groups and an open forum.
Included with Conference registration.
