MaryClaire Attisano completes OT Doctoral Capstone Project

Congratulations to Latham staff member MaryClaire Attisano, a doctoral student at Johnson and Wales University, on the completion of her Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstone Project. Since 2018, MaryClaire has been a part of Latham’s Children’s Services Program, beginning as an Intern and currently working as a Substitute.

It is with much admiration and pride that we share MaryClaire’s incredible educational accomplishment in pursuit of a doctorate degree. MaryClaire presented a summary of her capstone project to Latham’s senior leadership last week. Here is a brief recap of her project, “Participation in Leisure on Mental Well-Being of Pediatric Individuals with Trauma or Prader-Willi Syndrome”:

The capstone project implemented here at Latham Centers was a 14-week term project focused on providing Latham residents with meaningful leisure activities to promote positive mental well-being. Students had the opportunity to engage in weekly leisure-based activities during evening residential hours to enhance mental health, promote a positive and safe environment, and encourage meaningful participation. The students participated in a variety of activities including planting spring seeds, developing vision boards, creating spin art designs, and developing window and sand art creations. Each activity provided Latham students with the opportunity to try something new, engage socially with their suitemates, and participate in a meaningful activity. Continued participation in leisure activities initiated several positive responses from students and staff and helped students to feel “calm,” “relaxed,” and “happy.” By the end, students “wished it was not going to end.”

Vice President of Children’s Services Monique Williams said staff and students have constantly praised MaryClaire for the work she was doing during her 14-week project on campus. “We are absolutely thrilled that MaryClaire was able to provide a steppingstone for the future development and engagement in leisure activities at Latham,” she said. Monique also extended sincere appreciation to Johnson and Wales University’s Occupational Therapy Doctorate Program for their collaboration throughout the last year, and for allowing MaryClaire the opportunity to complete her project with us. Special thanks to Andrea D. Fairman, PhD (Associate Professor and Capstone Coordinator) and Shannon Strate (Faculty Mentor).

More on MaryClaire’s research project (project announcement one year ago): https://bit.ly/43Ck6Wb.