$2.9 Million DoD Grant Awarded to AOTF-Funded Researchers

AOTF-funded researchers Erica Kemp, OTD, OTR/L, BCP, and Jewel Crasta, PhD, OTR/L(pictured below), at The Ohio State University’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, have recently been awarded a $2.9 million grant from the Department of Defense’s Autism Research Program. The funding will further support their AquOTic lab, pioneering a scalable, evidence-based water safety program tailored for children on the autism spectrum. The pilot adaptive swim program was initially funded by a 2022 AOTF Intervention Research Grant (IRG). Recruitment for instructor training for the next phase of the program will begin in September 2025.
Read full OSU article.

2025 AOTF Interview with Jewel Crasta, PhD, OTR/L

"The success of the pilot trial fostered partnerships with community recreation centers and families of children on the autism spectrum. These partnerships were highly valued by funders who prioritize sustainability and community integration."

Initial Impact

How did the funding from AOTF specifically impact your ability to pursue further funding opportunities?
The initial funding from AOTF allowed us to establish AquOTic as a manualized and evidence-based intervention, providing the resources needed for rigorous implementation and evaluation. This investment demonstrated proof of concept and positioned us to approach larger funders with preliminary data, feasibility results, and evidence of community impact. The pilot randomized controlled trial also allowed us to demonstrate our team's ability to conduct a rigorous clinical trial successfully and show the efficacy of the AquOTic program in improving water competency among children on the autism spectrum.

What changes or developments within your organization were enabled by our funding, which, in turn, strengthened your position for follow-on grants?
With AOTF's IRG support, we developed intervention manuals, established treatment fidelity procedures, identified AquOTic's active ingredients, and established standardized training protocols. These developments built the foundation for intervention fidelity and scalability—key factors that strengthened our applications for federal grants.

The Follow-On Funding Process

Can you describe how you identified and pursued the subsequent funding opportunities?
We systematically reviewed funding mechanisms that aligned with our mission, focusing on autism intervention and community-based rehabilitation science. We targeted federal programs such as NIH that had a NOSI (Notice of Special Interest) on drowning prevention research, and DoD's Autism Research Program.

What role did our funding play in demonstrating your organization’s capacity, impact, or readiness for larger grants?
The AOTF IRG funding provided essential preliminary data that demonstrated both feasibility and impact. Being able to showcase measurable improvements in children's water competency and caregiver-reported goals underscored our readiness to lead larger-scale trials.

Did the success of your project with our funding enable you to build stronger relationships with potential funders or partners?
Yes, the success of the pilot trial fostered partnerships with community recreation centers and families of children on the autism spectrum. These partnerships were highly valued by funders who prioritize sustainability and community integration.

Specific Examples and Evidence

Could you share specific examples of how our funding helped you achieve results that were compelling to other funders?
Our ability to successfully recruit and provide the AquOTic intervention to over 37 children on the autism spectrum using a rigorous randomized control trial framework, and show significant improvements in children's water competency skills, provided compelling evidence of both efficacy and real-world applicability. We were able to show that the study interventionists achieved high treatment fidelity, which further strengthened our proposal to train community interventionists on AquOTic to ensure scalability.

What data, stories, or achievements resulting from our funding were particularly impactful in your follow-on grant applications? 

• We published the results of our clinical trial in the Frontiers of Pediatrics journal with quantitative data showing significant improvements in children’s foundational water competency skills. 
• The narrative of families who transitioned from being unable to access traditional swim lessons to having their child's unique needs met during AquOTic, with improvements in water safety and swim skills.

Lessons Learned

What lessons did you learn during the process of securing the follow-on funding, which you believe were influenced by your experience with our organization?
We learned the importance of conducting a rigorous pilot trial with standardized outcomes and family-centered narratives.

Are there specific resources, support, or guidance that our organization provided that were particularly helpful in your subsequent fundraising efforts?
The visibility and credibility gained through AOTF's IRG grant served as a critical endorsement when pursuing competitive grants.

Support your early career OT research and apply for our Intervention and Implementation Research Grants now open. Letter of Intent due Sept. 19, 2025.