Editor and Author Bio
Barbara Hanft, MA, OTR, FAOTA, has 35 years experience as a clinician, lecturer, and lobbyist. An occupational therapist with a graduate degree in counseling psychology, she has managed a rural early intervention program, directed therapeutic services in an urban special education setting, and developed a private practice as a developmental consultant. She has also designed a broad range of professional development programs, including a nationally recognized model in-service to promote family-centered care in early intervention programs. Hanft teaches, writes, and consults nationwide with schools, early intervention programs, and related community agencies regarding family-centered care in natural environments, child development, and special education and related services in the public schools. She is a prolific writer with more than 25 publications in early childhood and team collaboration.
Jayne Shephered, MS, OTR, FAOTA, has worked for more than 26 years as a therapist and occupational therapy educator. A former special education teacher, she understands the unique needs of teachers working with related-services personnel. Before coming to academia, Shepherd worked as a clinician, fieldwork coordinator, and supervisor in acute care, rehabilitation, and inpatient and outpatient settings for children and adults. She teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University and consults with varied pediatric and special education programs in Virginia. Shepherd is the assistant director for post-professional education at VCU; coordinates Fieldwork I; and teaches content related to pediatrics, school-based practice, assistive technology, therapeutic activities, and clinical reasoning. She has organized and presented at numerous conferences related to school-based practice.
Gloria Frolek Clark, MS, OTR/L, BCP, FAOTA, is a 1977 graduate of the occupational therapy program at the University of North Dakota. She has an MS in early childhood special education from Iowa State University and currently is a doctoral student. During the past 30 years, Frolek Clark has specialized in occupational therapy services for pediatric clients in home, community, and school settings. She was cofounder and chair of the AOTA School System Special Interest Section. Frolek Clark has presented nationally on early intervention services and school-based practice and has authored several book chapters and articles on practice. She works for the Heartland Area Education Agency providing occupational therapy services in early intervention, preschool, school-age, and community programs and is a consultant for the Iowa Department of Education in Des Moines.
Yvonne Swinth, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, is a professor at the University of Puget Sound and has more than 20 years of experience in school-based practice. She has presented locally, nationally, and internationally on topics related to school-based practice and services for children and is the author of more than 10 book chapters and articles specific to service delivery in the schools. Swinth is an AOTA representative on the National IDEA Resource Cadre of the federally funded IDEA Partnership Projects, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, and currently is co-chair of Occupational Therapists in Schools, a standing committee for the Washington Occupational Therapy Association. Currently, she is analyzing data from a national research project that is addressing efficacy and efficiency in school-based occupational therapy.