Researchers Erika Kemp, OTD, OTR/L, BCP, and Jewel Crasta, PhD, OTR/L (pictured l-r below), from The Ohio State University’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, have recently received 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. You may read the full OSU article for more information.

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

Initial Impact

How did the AOTF research grant 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 necessary resources 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, along with caregiver-reported goals, which underscored our readiness to lead larger-scale trials.

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.

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. View swim safety tips for children with autism and at-home water safety activities.

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

• We published clinical trial results showing significant improvements in children’s foundational water competency skills in Frontiers in Pediatrics (Kemp E, et al., 2024).
• 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 early career OT research, donate, and/or apply to our Intervention and Implementation Research Grants now open. Letter of Intent due Sept. 19, 2025. 

The Occupational Therapy Journal of Research (OTJR), published by the American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF), is proud to introduce a new Infographic Series—created to help bridge the gap between research and practice.

Click to open the full infographic!

These visually engaging, evidence-informed resources are designed to make core concepts in occupational therapy more accessible, shareable, and ready for implementation across various settings.

Whether you're supporting emotional regulation, promoting daily function, or working in emerging areas of occupational therapy (OT) practice, our infographics can serve as quick references, teaching tools, or conversation starters with clients, caregivers, students, and colleagues.

Our latest infographic highlights the Cognitive Orientation to Daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) approach—a client-centered, evidence-based intervention that empowers individuals to solve their own performance challenges. Rather than focusing on underlying components, CO-OP addresses meaningful occupation directly through cognitive strategy use and guided discovery. The "Goal-Plan-Do-Check" framework helps clients develop problem-solving skills that transfer to everyday life.

Download the CO-OP approach infographic and use it in your sessions, classrooms, or team discussions. This is just the beginning. We’ll continue adding more OTJR infographics to the AOTF website throughout the year—all grounded in occupational therapy research and designed to help you bring evidence to life in your daily work. Stay tuned—and thank you for helping us move OT research forward!

Madison joined the American Occupational Therapy Foundation in the Summer of 2025. As the Communications Coordinator, Madison assists in developing engaging content and strategies to promote AOTF's core mission of advancing evidence-based occupational therapy research across all methods of communications.

Previously, Madison was the Communications Associate at the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, an international affairs advocacy nonprofit. There, she utilized social media and digital communications to amplify events, grow the organization's audience, and tell the story of why investing in diplomacy is critical to Americans. 

Madison graduated cum laude from the George Washington University in 2022 with a B.A. in International Affairs. Originally from Boston, Madison has been proud to call the DMV home for the past 7 years. In her free time, she enjoys fundraising and volunteering for causes she cares about, particularly suicide prevention and mental health awareness.

Candy Cooley joined AOTF in 2025 as the Executive Assistant. Candy provides administrative support to the Executive Office and serves as the primary point of contact for the Board of Trustees, as well as for strategic planning activities and several standing committees. Candy also supports the Foundation’s Awards & Recognition Program, volunteer development, and nominations processes, and assists with the coordination of the Planning Grant Collective, Engage Summit Conference, and Annual Conference.

Before joining AOTF, Candy held executive administrative assistant and program specialist roles at the National Institute of Health, where she focused on improving operational systems, supporting leadership teams, and fostering mission-driven collaborations.

Candy attend Rochester Institute of Technology followed by UMGC for her BBA- Bachelor of Business Administration. Outside the office, you will often find me exploring different restaurants & foods, indulging in culinary adventures, I love spending time in the mountains as well as at the beach. My most precious moments are spent with my daughter and my family.