Date of Award

4-2024

Degree Type

Capstone Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Piotr Pasik

Second Advisor

Holly Grieves

Abstract

Participation in physical activity is essential for an individual’s health and well-being. However, persons with disabilities have limited access to physical activity due to personal, environmental, institutional, and/or social barriers. This limited access increases a disabled individual’s likelihood of developing secondary health conditions, decreased mental health outcomes, and feelings of social isolation. To combat this, it is important that these individuals have equitable access to and knowledge of adaptive physical activity opportunities such as adaptive sport, recreation, and fitness. To address this need, this capstone project focused on promoting and sustaining an existing adaptive sports and recreation program through the development of outreach, branding, and program organization resources. Objectives included the creation of a program website, social media strategy, member feedback tool, and additional resources to promote program growth. With the creation and implementation of these resources, the program will have the means to recruit more disabled individuals and increase knowledge about the benefits of adaptive physical activity. Occupational therapists would benefit from this knowledge as they are well-primed to provide their patients with information about these opportunities in order to promote the development of a beneficial, lifelong occupation.

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