AOTA's ECHO® series on multiple sclerosis

AOTA hosted a virtual ECHO Series® (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) from January to March 2023 for members and nonmembers.

The series covered occupational therapy interventions for multiple sclerosis (MS), focusing on findings from AOTA’s Practice Guidelines. Participants asked questions about practice and engage with authors of AOTA’s MS Practice Guidelines, representatives from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and AOTA member MS content experts.

View the AOTA ECHO Series on Occupational Therapy Interventions for Adults with Multiple Sclerosis Welcome Packet.

Presenters

Suzanne began her career at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in 1999, developing and overseeing wellness, research, family, education, and therapeutic exercise programs for individuals affected by multiple sclerosis; and developing and implementing professional education programs in collaboration with MS specialists. Currently, as Director – Healthcare Stakeholder Engagement at the National MS Society, she provides leadership to the Healthcare Stakeholder Engagement field team in developing and managing strategic health care provider relationships and partnerships with community health organizations and oversees special projects. She holds a bachelor's degree in Business Management from Maryville University and a Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO.
Dr. Cunningham is a Clinical Faculty Member at the Occupational Therapy Faculty Practice within the University of Southern California Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. Dr. Cunningham provides Lifestyle Redesign® OT services to individuals with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, MCAS and dysautonomia, and sleep disorders. She is a member of the USC MS multidisciplinary team, movement disorders multidisciplinary team, and MCAS working group. Dr. Cunningham holds the designation of certified MS specialist and has completed training for the delivery of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia.
Maureen Gecht-Silver recently retired as an Assistant Professor in Clinical Family Medicine and Occupational Therapy at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). She has experience as the Associate Director of Medical Student Education and instructed in the Family Medicine Clerkship. As part of the UIC faculty OT practice, she was engaged in researching and applying a self-management approach to OT service delivery in primary care and specialty clinics. Related research interests included training health professionals in self-management, and motivational interviewing. Dr. Gecht-Silver has a longstanding interest in promoting self-management for people with chronic health conditions. She is a trainer for the Stanford Developed Chronic Disease, Pain, and Diabetes Self-management Programs (CDSMP, CPSMP, and DSMP). She is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers. She has more than 25 years of clinical experience as an occupational therapist in a variety of practice settings. In 2016, she completed a doctorate in occupational therapy at UIC.
Dr. Synovec is a Senior Program Manager at the National Institute for Medical Respite Care at National Health Care for the Homeless Council, and an Occupational Therapist with clinical experience working with adults experiencing homelessness to improve quality of life and engagement in their preferred communities. Dr. Synovec’s experience also includes program development for collaborative and interdisciplinary care, education and training for OT practitioners, and for health care and direct service providers on the intersection of homelessness, poverty, and complex comorbidities and their impact on health for individuals and communities. As a former member of the AOTA Commission on Practice she is a co-author of the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain & Process, 4th Edition.
Dr. Uyeshiro Simon is an Associate Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy at the University of Southern California Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, and teaches undergraduate occupational therapy courses that focus on lifestyle management, self-care, and well-being. Her clinical background is in Lifestyle Redesign®, primarily for chronic neurological conditions such as migraines, neuropathic pain, and multiple sclerosis. She has collaborated with AOTA’s Evidence-Based Practice Project on a systematic review and a practice guideline, among other publications.
Dr. Zackowski is the Associate Vice President for Research at the National MS Society in the U.S. She manages the Society’s research portfolio on clinical and rehabilitation care. Prior to being at the Society, she was at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine as an Associate Professor, where her laboratory focused on investigating mechanisms that underlie sensorimotor impairments and disability resulting from damage to the central nervous system, and she worked as a clinician there providing occupational therapy to individuals with multiple sclerosis.