Addressing the Occupational Needs of Children and Families from Underserved Communities with a History of Complex Trauma (Episode 116)

Karen Park, OTD, OTR/L, BCP, SWC, CLE, is an occupational therapist with extensive experience in pediatric practice in a variety of service settings including early intervention, clinic, school, hospital and outpatient children’s mental health. Dr. Park is Board Certified in Pediatrics by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) and holds Advanced Practice certification in Swallowing Assessment, Evaluation, and Intervention within the state of California. Prior to joining the faculty at University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in San Marcos, CA (USA), Dr. Park was an Assistant Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy and the Director of Academic Fieldwork Education at the University of Southern California, Chan Division of Occupational Science and Therapy. Her expertise in fieldwork education focuses on role emerging fieldwork experiences in children’s mental health settings; specifically mentoring OT students in identifying and establishing the role of OT in addressing the occupational needs of underserved children and families with a history of complex trauma. She was also clinical faculty at the USC University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) in the interdisciplinary Feeding Development Clinic serving children with feeding challenges, co-occurring neuro-developmental disorders and a history of medical or psychosocial trauma. She has taught courses on pediatric practice and given additional lectures on infant mental health and mealtime assessment and intervention. She also completed the certificate program in Sensory Integration at USC Chan. Dr. Park has lectured nationally and internationally on topics around interdisciplinary approaches to feeding assessment and intervention, the intersection of trauma and mental health factors on mealtime engagement and enjoyment, healthy weight for children with special healthcare needs, as well as developing and sustaining role emerging FW experiences.

Note: We use the acronym "AAPI" throughout this episode in reference to the Asian Pacific American Islander community.

Resources discussed on this episode:
Stop AAPI Hate - https://stopaapihate.org/
AAPI Women Lead - https://www.imreadymovement.org/
Asian Pacific Heritage Month information - https://asianpacificheritage.gov/
Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity (COTAD) - www.cotad.org
COTAD Conversations: Occupation, Invisibility, and anti-Asian Racism - see recorded talk with Dr. Karen Park on COTAD's IG account @COTAD_diversity (March 29, 2021)

Connect with Dr. Park -
Via IG @karenparkotd