Empowering People of All Abilities Through Collaboration: Hand in Hand and SAU Occupational Therapy

Fifteen St. Ambrose students walk through the door of Tessa’s Place on a Friday morning ready to read, play, and lesson plan for our inclusive programs. They are the newest group of occupational therapy students to visit Hand in Hand. Hand in Hand has been partnering with St. Ambrose University’s Occupational Therapy Department since 2021. Student in their program are introduced to Hand in Hand as early as their first semester and take part in classroom observations and direct interactions with participants.

Students learn about group interventions, early childhood development, and gain clinical observation skills. As they progress in the program they get to collaborate with teachers, develop intervention skills to promote fine motor, gross motor, and social emotional skills through the occupation of play, and provide recommendations for adaptive equipment.

Students were able to participate in the creation of our Nature Explore playground development in Spring 2022 as part of our major Tessa’s Place renovation and were able to gain knowledge on the importance of accessibility in outdoor environments. Not only did students help with Tessa’s Place construction but were also vital in identifying adaptive equipment to use in our new People with Purpose Clubhouse.

Occupational therapy students at SAU are taught to promote inclusion and occupational justice. The goal of students getting real world experience at Hand in Hand is to provide activities that foster inclusion for all in the classrooms both inside and outside. While engaging in activities at Hand in Hand the students are working on how to promote fine motor, gross motor and social emotional skills for health and well-being. Students think creatively about how to adapt activities to ensure all children can participate. They even come up with lesson plans to make sure all of our students are getting a fulfilling experience while at Hand in Hand.

“St. Ambrose embraces the educational philosophy of John Dewey, doing and reflecting is a key component of this philosophy. Having our students gain hands-on experience and understand the dynamics of everyday occupations throughout the lifespan is integral into learning how to be an effective occupational therapist,” said Angie McCombs, OTD, Clinical Assoc. Professor at St. Ambrose University.

Emma Elceser is putting her OT knowledge to work as a staff member in our afterschool program at Hand in Hand and will work with us full-time in the summer while she completes her OT degree through SAU. She has been a part of the OT program since August of 2022 and says her favorite part is the faculty and how they create a positive environment for their students to achieve their goals.  

“The hands-on experiences we are able to get out in the community through the program's connections allow us to expand on our learning further than just taking information as true in class,” said Elceser. She says she has been able to apply her knowledge of various diagnoses while working at Hand in Hand and has learned a lot about waiver documentation for those with a disability.

Her dream job is to be an in-house occupational therapist at Hand in Hand upon graduation and certification or she would love to work with the pediatric population in some way.

To find out more about the occupational therapy program at St. Ambrose University visit https://www.sau.edu/doctor-of-occupational-therapy.

To work with Emma or our other amazing employees visit the Hand in Hand jobs page.