Pre-conference online registration will close on Tuesday, October 10th
There WILL now be onsite registration, however we highly encourage you to register online ahead of time to ensure accurate headcounts for conference presentations and breakfast and lunch provided.
More details to come for onsite registration instructions
The Idaho Occupational Therapy Association is an AOTA Approved Provider of professional development. Course approval ID# 5705. This Live PD activity is offered at up to 1.25 CEUs, Introductory, Occupational Therapy Service Delivery/Professional Issues/Foundational Knowledge. The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA.
Your registration includes a 1-year membership to the
Idaho Occupational Therapy Association!
Earn up to 12.5 contact hours! (1.25 AOTA CEU)
Featuring AOTA President Alyson Stover, MOT, JD, OTR/L, BCP
as keynote speaker
IOTA Conference Location
Pond Student Union
Idaho State University
921 S 8th Ave, Pocatello, Idaho 83209
Conference Location:
Pond Student Union
Idaho State University
921 S 8th Ave, Pocatello, Idaho 83209
Click the button to view special hotel rates for conference attendees.
Conference Schedule
Friday October 20th, 2023 – 8:00 am – 5:15 pm
8:00-9:00 AM – REGISTRATION
9:00 - 9:45 AM - Annual Business Meeting with IOTA President Address
Megan Doyle, IOTA President and featured IOTA Executive Board Members will address the membership and provide an update of the past year’s IOTA business, including the annual financial update, advocacy and legislative wins, IOTA’s activities behind the scenes, recognizing the prior year’s Executive Board and announcing the new 2024 Executive Board Members, review of the 5-Year Strategic Plan, and more.
10:00-11:00 AM - Exploring the Many Skills and Talents of Occupational Therapy
Lou Figueroa
In this presentation, Lou focuses on activities of daily living, functional transfers, and mental health following traumatic events. Attendees will hear how occupational therapy taught him the life skills necessary to function in everyday environments.
11:30 - 1:00 PM - Shades of Occupational Therapy Practice: a Practitioner Panel
Megan Doyle, MS, OTR/L TPS, FPS, Cert-APHPT;
Catherine Canavan, OTD, OTR/L;
Andrea Belcoe, COTA/L;
Lisa Wehofer-Smallwood, OTR/L, CNDT, BCPR.
OT is a profession that creates many opportunities. A panel of practitioners will speak to various focus areas, such as a new chronic pain program, groups in long-term care, international practice, and the journey from clinician to academic, with time for an interactive question and answer period.
11:00-1:00 PM – Lunch Included with Tuition Cost (During Shades of Occupational Therapy Practice: a Practitioner Panel)
1:15 - 5:15 PM - Evaluation of the Shoulder for the OT and Management of Rotator Cuff Related Pain
Sydney Schoensee, PT, MS, DPT, OCS, SCS, FAAOMPT
Evaluation of the Shoulder Complex for the OT and Application to Occupation-Based Practice Lab: Includes Practicing Palpation/ Special Tests Management of Rotator Cuff Related Pain Lab: Includes Manual Therapy and Exercise Strategies Categories: Occupational Therapy Service Delivery; Foundational Knowledge
1:15 - 2:45 PM - Inside Out – Mindfulness for Burnout
Jenn Holst, AuD
Tony Seikel, Ph.D.
Mindfulness can alleviate symptoms of burnout and increases resiliency. The presentation describes burnout and offers mindfulness-based solutions and advocacy. Participants will have an opportunity to practice 4 different meditations that protect healthcare providers from the symptoms of burnout.
3:00 - 5:00 PM - Occupational Therapy Practitioner’s Guide to Quality Dementia Care
Lisa Baxter Hong OTD, OTR/L
Joanne Trammel MS, OTR/L
This introductory course will provide OT practitioners with the tools to provide quality care to individuals and care partners that have or deal with dementia. Learners will understand the basics of dementia, apply knowledge to interventions, and develop improved confidence documented services when working with those dealing with dementia. The course will include lecture, case study discussion and application.
3:00 - 5:00 PM - Basic Strategies to Recommend When a Client has Incontinence (Pediatric Based)
Ivan M Hardcastle, OTR/L
Incontinence can affect a greater number of clients than we initially know, and when parents have questions about incontinence challenges, how do we address them? This course will cover basics of anatomy, physiology related to incontinence, basic treatment of incontinence through education, diet, and toilet positioning. Direction for further learning opportunities will also be given.
6:00 PM - Social Event - Shoshone-Bannock Hotel and Casino
Hosted by the IOTA – Free to all Conference Attendees
in the Painted Horse Buffet at the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel and Casino
Saturday, October 21st, 2023 – 7:30 am – 6:30 pm
7:30 – 8:30 AM – REGISTRATION
8:30 - 10:00 AM - Dean’s Welcome, Keynote Presentation by Alyson Stover, MOT, JD, OTR/L, BCP
8:30 – 9:15 AM – Dean’s Welcome Address
Join Dean Teresa Conner, dean of the College of Health of Idaho State University Kasika Division of Health Sciences and Dean Gerald Anhorn, dean of the Idaho State University College of Technology, to officially welcome attendees to the Idaho State University Campus representing the Idaho State University Master of Occupational Therapy Program and Idaho State University Occupational Therapy Assistant Program respectively. Student awards and recognition will also occur during this time.
9:15 – 10:00 AM – Alyson Stover, MOT, JD, OTR/L, BCP Keynote Address
”Promoting Occupational Therapy: Let’s Change the Words, but not the Message!”
Have you ever perfected your OT elevator speech and thought it’s still not working? Do you continue to feel the burden of explaining WHAT you do before having a consumer ENGAGE in doing it? As members of the OT community, we have an obligation to advocate for our consumers, potential consumers, AND our profession. This presentation is going to walk through the theories, frameworks, and most importantly, strategies to advocate for all three at the same time in an exciting and efficient way.
10:15 - 11:45 AM - Supporting Children on the Autism Spectrum Using DIRFloortime: From the evidence-based research to the playful joy of a cardboard box in therapy
Jeffrey J. Guenzel, MA, LPC
DIRFloortime®, also known as DIR®, is an evidence-based approach to promoting development for children with neurodevelopmental differences including autism and is one of the most utilized approaches by occupational therapists. This session will provide a fun introduction to DIRFloortime with video examples and practical steps you can use tomorrow.
10:15 - 12:15 PM - Mental Health Occupational Therapy Services in Acute Care
SaCora Abshire, OTR/L
Therapists will learn and apply concepts through lecture, discussion, and case study. OTs will learn foundational information: theories, frames of reference, and MH diagnosis. OTs will discuss evidence-based practice, assessments, and interventions. Along with practice application to case studies.
10:15 - 12:15 PM - Using Groups to Improve Quality of Life Among Residents of Skilled Nursing Facilities
Andrea Belcoe, COTA/L
Danielle Everheart, COTA/L
Amanda Henscheid, OTD, OTR/L
This presentation will use the example of an OT team at a skilled nursing facility in Idaho to describe the impact of using groups in occupational therapy practice. This presentation will include examples from the OT team to show how the programming was developed and implemented, as well as the outcomes of using groups within this setting.
12:30 – 1:45 PM Lunch Included with Tuition Cost and Simultaneous Poster Presentation viewing (no assigned CEU)
2:00 - 3:00 PM - Town Hall
Come participate in a question and answer session with AOTA President Alyson Stover and representatives from the IOTA regarding national and state level occupational therapy practice issues, legislative action, advocacy for the profession, and more, with additional state level and national level leaders to be confirmed.
3:15 - 5:15 PM - Sensory Integration and Implications for Occupational Therapy Intervention with the Adult Population
Meredith Chandler, OTR/L
The course includes a review of sensory integration, sensory processing disorder, and pediatric foundations as well as implications for adult-based interventions and assessment which will be provided via research-based lecture, case studies, group discussion, and lab demonstration.
3:15 - 4:00 PM - Student Trivia Event
Come join your fellow students for a student only fun trivia event, hosted by the IOTA Student Representatives. This trivia event will immediately proceed the NBCOT student presentation, and teams will compete to be entered into a drawing for two NBCOT Study Packs as prizes, in addition to other fun giveaways for participants.
4:00 - 5:00 PM - NBCOT® National Certification Exam: Information You Need to Know
Mel Henderson, MS, OTR/L, MBA
During this session, an NBCOT Ambassador will share valuable information about preparing and applying for the national OTR and COTA certification exams. Specific topics include exclusive details about the exams, study tool resources, test day information, data regarding exam questions, and advice from other students and recent certificants. This presentation will allow you to be better informed about the various aspects of the national certification exam experience.
4:00 - 5:00 PM - Practice Gems from the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (4th edition)
Amanda Henscheid, OTD, OTR/L
Joanne Trammel MS, OTR/L
This presentation will include a review of key concepts from the OTPF-4, with an emphasis on sharing how these ideas can be applied in practice. This presentation will incorporate examples of how OTPs have used these concepts to serve their clients. Attendees will participate in a case study application of incorporating OTPF-4 into practice and documentation.
5:15 - 6:15 PM - Understanding Autistic Communication and Recognizing the Importance of Acceptance-based Occupational Therapy
Melanie Shaw, MOT Student
Learning from an autistic OT student about the value of two-way communication in addressing stigma and misconceptions about autism. This lecture reframes autistic people as a social minority, presenting their thoughts on labels, communication, and therapy in the wake of Patten’s 2022 Slagle lecture.
6:15 - 6:30 PM - Ending Ceremony
Final closing remarks and recognitions for the conference, including the announcement of the Becki Stephens Award Winner and raffle prize drawings.
Conference Info
Presentations by Topic
Click on a topic to view relevant presentations
- All
- Academic Education
- Administration and Management
- Advocacy
- Children & Youth
- Chronic Conditions
- Coding and Billing
- Cognition
- Developmental Disabilities
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Early Childhood
- Environmental Modifications
- Ethics
- Evidence-Based Practice and Knowledge Translation
- General and Professional Issues
- Gerontology
- Hand and Upper Extremity
- Health and Wellness
- Home and Community Health
- Innovative and Evolving Practice
- International
- Leadership
- Mental Health and Behavioral Health
- Occupation-Based Practice
- OT/OTA Wellbeing
- Physical Rehabilitation
- Primary Care
- Private Practice
- Productive Aging
- Quality and Value Based Care
- Rehabilitation and Disability
- Sensory Integration and Processing
- Student Specific
- Work and Industry
