Research

I’ve loved writing ever since I was a kid. However, in October, 2019, I sustained a brain injury and temporarily lost my ability to read and write. The words would swim around on the page, it was hard to concentrate, and I was in pain all of the time. Despite being an occupational therapist, I couldn’t fix myself.

Some of the things I was feeling—the grief and anger—were confusing. So I called Devin Barth and Amanda Griggs and asked them to help me understand what was happening to me. We are in the process of conducting a collaborative, autoethnographic study about grief and dysgraphia following brain injury.

Through my experiences in healthcare both as a practitioner and patient, I’ve come to believe that telling our stories is an essential part of healing and making sense of our place in the world.

Presentation of preliminary findings

  • Society for the Study of Occupation: “Exploring the transactions between identity disruption and occupational identity disruption following traumatic brain injury” —Presenter 2022

  • Texas Occupational Therapy Association Conference: “Unraveling the power of cccupational identity through an OT's TBI Journey”—Poster presentation (2021)

  • Colorado State University: “Opportunities for practitioner-led research in occupational therapy”- Guest lecturer (2021)

  • NSU: “Research methods in occupational therapy”- Guest lecturer (2020)

“In the midst of this existential nothingness, we are challenged to create our own meanings; discover our own truths, and fashion the personal myths that will serve to sanctify our lives.”
—Dan McAdams from The Stories We Live By

Previous research: At Colorado State University, I conducted research with Dr. Barbara Hooper on her educational model the SCIL-OT.