Date Presented 04/13/21 Individuals with intellectual disabilities have a high risk for obesity. The effectiveness of community-based interventions at improving obesity-related outcomes was assessed. Results showed low to moderate evidence for nutritional, physical activity, and health knowledge and self-efficacy outcomes and low evidence for physical fitness. OTs are well suited to align community-based interventions with meaningful outcomes to improve the health and well-being of people with intellectual disabilities. Primary Author and Speaker: Yasmeena Ougayour Additional Authors and Speakers: Stacey Reynolds

Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations. The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of a parent-mediated, in-home feeding intervention (parent training, direct intervention, and parent coaching) over 6 months for families with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The findings support preliminary evidence that the intervention improves eating skills and mealtime behaviors in children with ASD and the need for more targeted feeding interventions for children with ASD that involve the parents in the natural context of the home. Primary Author and Speaker: Karla Ausderau Additional Authors and Speakers: Brittany St John, Libby Hladik, Shannon Kant, Jessica Muesbeck, and Holly Romaniak

Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations. This study presents the relationships between different types of feeding challenges for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to specific sensory patterns, parenting stress, and overall adaptive behaviors. The findings of this study suggest children with ASD demonstrate unique patterns of feeding challenges and sensory responses that are significantly connected to parenting stress and adaptive behavior and can inform the development of targeted family-centered feeding interventions. Primary Author and Speaker: Brittany St John Additional Authors and Speakers: Muhammad Al-Heizan, Molly Hamre, and Karla Ausderau Contributing Authors: Kate Dorrance, Colleen Althoff

Date Presented 03/26/20 This study presents the relationships between different types of feeding challenges for children with ASD to specific sensory patterns, parenting stress, and overall adaptive behaviors. The findings of this study suggest children with ASD demonstrate unique patterns of feeding challenges and sensory responses that are significantly connected to parenting stress and adaptive behavior and can inform the development of targeted family-centered feeding interventions. Primary Author and Speaker: Brittany St. John Additional Authors and Speakers: Molly Hamre, Karla Ausderau Contributing Authors: Muhammad Al-Heizan, Kate Dorrance, Colleen Althoff

Date Presented 03/27/20 The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of a parent-mediated, in-home feeding intervention (parent-training, direct intervention, and parent coaching) over six months for families with children with ASD. The findings support preliminary evidence of the intervention at improving eating skills and mealtime behaviors in children with ASD and the need for more targeted feeding interventions for children with ASD that involve the parents within the natural context of the home. Primary Author and Speaker: Karla Ausderau Additional Authors and Speakers: Shannon Kant, Jessica Muesbeck, Libby Hladik, Holly Romaniak, Brittany St. John

Date Presented 04/04/19 Special Olympics athletes are individuals with intellectual disabilities who participate in sports training and competition to encourage their development of physical fitness and life skills. In addition, Special Olympics regularly conducts health promotion programming. Health outcomes between Special Olympic athletes and nonathletes with intellectual disabilities were compared using a state-wide Medicaid data set to determine potential benefits of participation in Special Olympics. Primary Author and Speaker: Karla Ausderau Additional Authors and Speakers: Brittany St. John, Elisabeth Hladik, Holly Romaniak, Muhammad Al-Heizan

Date Presented 04/06/19 Individuals with ID experience limited autonomy in occupational engagement impacting their health promoting occupations. Photovoice was used to allow individuals with ID to capture their lived experience of health, occupational participation, and barriers to participation. Understanding the perspective of individuals with ID will contribute to the development of novel health promotion programing. Primary Author and Speaker: Brittany St. John Additional Authors and Speakers: Karla Ausderau, Holly Romaniak, Elisabeth Hladik

OBJECTIVE. We identified and described the strategies parents use to support the mealtime participation of their child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHOD. Twelve families with children with ASD (ages 2–7 yr) participated in videotaped mealtime observations. Qualitative content analysis was used to identify strategies families used to facilitate participation. RESULTS. Six categories were identified: (1) parent intervening and ignoring, (2) meal preparation and adaptability, (3) play and imagination, (4) distractions, (5) positive reinforcements, and (6) modeling. Props—common child objects that support the child’s mealtime participation—were used in the context of multiple strategies. In addition, increased parental vigilance emerged as an important component of all family mealtimes. CONCLUSION. Families used multiple strategies within and across mealtimes, highlighting the individualistic nature of feeding challenges. Understanding parent mealtime strategies allows for further investigation into the efficacy and development of intervention strategies to promote mealtime participation of children with ASD.

Date Presented 4/21/2018 Findings from this study provide preliminary confirmation of the construct validity of the Feeding Assessment for Children With Autism, providing researchers and clinicians with a comprehensive and psychometrically sound assessment tool to assess the unique feeding challenges of children with autism. Primary Author and Speaker: Karla Ausderau Additional Authors and Speakers: Muhammad Al-Heizan, Caitlin Dammann, Sarah Hope, Colleen Althoff, Katelyn Dorrance, Molly Hamre, Brittany St. John

Date Presented 4/20/2018 Feeding challenges are prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), often disrupting family mealtimes. Limited research has examined tools families incorporate to support mealtime engagement. This study explored the tools (e.g., toys, books) and their purpose that families used during mealtimes with children with ASD. Primary Author and Speaker: Jessica Muesbeck Additional Authors and Speakers: Shannon Kant, Brittany St. John, and Karla Ausderau

Date Presented 4/21/2018 Significant disparities exist related to access to and participation in health-promoting activities for adults with intellectual disabilities. This study identified types of health-promoting activities that Special Olympic athletes participated in and their potential benefits. Primary Author and Speaker: Katelyn Dorrance Additional Authors and Speakers: Rachel Usdin, Brittany St. John Contributing Authors: Scott Allen, Nilvio Alexander, Punguil Bravo

Date Presented 4/21/2018 Income disparities in diagnosis and intervention services have been documented for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study explored relationships between family socioeconomic status variables and functional independence outcomes for children with ASD. Primary Author and Speaker: Brittany St. John Additional Authors and Speakers: Karla Ausderau