Document Type

Report

College

College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Department

Occupational Therapy

Degree

Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)

Report Date

4-2026

Faculty Mentor

Gross, Kimberly

Doctoral Experiential Coordinator

Latour, Debra

Abstract

This doctoral experiential capstone project, titled “Impact of Occupational Therapy–Led Education on Adaptive Snow Sports Staff and Volunteers Working with Individuals with Diverse Diagnoses,” was developed to address a gap in educational training for adaptive snow sports instructors. Notably, there is limited research examining the education and training provided to staff and volunteers within adaptive sports programs, further emphasizing the need for this work. The project was implemented at Wachusett Mountain Ski Area and included three instructors participating in the adaptive program. Educational sessions were delivered through a combination of group-based and individualized formats, conducted live and synchronously via Zoom. A mixed-methods approach was utilized to evaluate the hypothesis that participation in the educational program would increase instructors’ knowledge of diverse conditions and diagnoses, as well as their comfort and confidence when working with individuals in adaptive snow sports environments. Findings supported this hypothesis, as all participants demonstrated consistent improvement in both knowledge and self-reported comfort levels from pre- to post-assessment. This project serves as a promising preliminary study, highlighting the value of occupational therapy–led education within adaptive sports settings. It also underscores the potential for continued development and expansion of educational programming to better support instructors and enhance participant experiences in adaptive snow sports programs.

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