03-09-2011
Shonda Schilling—Author, Wife of Baseball Star Pitcher—To Talk of Therapy’s Effectiveness In Her Family
Bethesda, MD—Shonda Schilling, wife of retired Boston Red Sox All-Star pitcher Curt Schilling, will share the story of her son Grant’s struggle with Asperger’s syndrome and how occupational therapy has given her family hope that they can “get to the finish line.”
Schilling is scheduled to give the keynote address on Thursday, April 14, at the 91st Annual Conference and Expo of the American Occupational Therapy Association at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. The keynote address begins at 4 pm.
Her keynote speech will delve into many issues described in her recent book, The Best Kind of Different. She will describe her son Grant’s irrational behavior in his struggle with Asperger’s syndrome and the effect occupational therapy has in “slowing his engine down and self-regulating his responses.”
Schilling is available for interviews prior to the conference. Media are also welcome to cover her keynote address. Please contact Beth Mullen, AOTA media relations manager, at emullen@aota.org.
Schilling talks in openly in The Best Kind of Different about the following:
- Shonda and Curt’s surprising reaction to learning their then 7-year-old son Grant has Asperger’s syndrome
- What it’s like in a household where all four of the Schilling children, as well as Curt, have ADHD
- Shonda and Curt’s post-diagnosis guilt as they learned they’d been incorrectly parenting Grant for years
- How Shonda and Grant both wound up on medication, one for depression, the other for ADHD
- Shonda’s embarrassment of Grant’s behavior in public, especially with the added pressure of everyone knowing who they are because of Curt’s MLB status
- How as the wife of a MLB star, Shonda was essentially a single parent for years, and how the realities of life in a baseball family made the situation with Grant even more difficult
- How the Schilling’s eldest son Gehrig, developed anorexia in the middle of the family’s struggle with the Asperger’s diagnosis and how they discovered it
- How the couple went into marriage counseling to save their relationship
Founded in 1917, the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) represents the professional interests and concerns of more than 140,000 occupational therapists, assistants, and students nationwide. The Association educates the public and advances the profession of occupational therapy by providing resources, setting standards including accreditations, and serving as an advocate to improve health care. Based in Bethesda, Md., AOTA’s major programs and activities are directed toward promoting the professional development of its members and assuring consumer access to quality services so patients can maximize their individual potential. For more information, go to www.aota.org.
