About the Community Participant Labs

The Community Participant Labs or “CPLs” are both a service to the community and a required student learning experience. Students in the occupational therapy and physical therapy programs provide free therapy to members of the community under the direct supervision of licensed faculty.

We offer the following CPLs:

• Adult Physical Therapy, six weekly sessions, November through December, and March through April
• Adult Occupational Therapy, nine weekly sessions, February through April
• Pediatric Occupational Therapy, nine weekly sessions, October to December

What is the PT Community Participant Labs?

• Educational experiences for our Doctor of Physical Therapy students, integrated into a patient/client management lab course
• An opportunity for individuals with a diagnosed neurologic condition or asymptomatic musculoskeletal condition to contribute to our students’ education
• A service for the East Bay community focused on providing mutual benefit for our students and the community members who participate. Community members may experience decreased symptoms, improved mobility and function, and fitness and wellness advice.

About the PT CPL Program

Our program consists of four to six visits, with the first visit being an examination followed by treatment sessions and concluding with a home program and recommended community resources.

Visits are provided by SMU students under faculty supervision and include exercise, task practice/function training, support in making health behavior changes, and specialized services such as vestibular rehabilitation.

What is the OT Adult Community Participant Labs?

• An opportunity for individuals with a diagnosed neurological condition to contribute to our students’ education. Some conditions that might bring a client in for services are a stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson's disease, for example.
• A student-led program, supervised by licensed occupational therapy faculty.
• A service for the Bay Area community focused on promoting participation and engagement in personal occupations. Personal occupations include activities of daily living (ADL) such as personal care and home tasks, as well as work and leisure activities. 

About the OT Adult CPL Program

Our program consists of nine visits, with the first visit being an examination followed by treatment sessions and concluding with a home program and recommended adaptive devices, equipment, and strategies to improve function in daily tasks.

Visits are designed to improve an important area of functioning in the participant's daily life, such as:

• Self-care tasks (dressing, grooming, bathing, using the toilet)
• Home tasks (cooking, dishes, cleaning, bills, etc.)
• Work activities (transportation, use of the computer, endurance, mental focus)
• Leisure tasks (going out to eat, socializing, playing sports, etc.).
• Exercises to improve strength or mobility in order to complete daily tasks
• Recommendation of adapted devices, equipment or strategies to improve function in daily tasks.

Please note: If the main objective is to improve walking, please see the Community Participant Lab offered by the Physical Therapy program.

What is the OT Pediatric Community Participant Lab?

• A free occupational therapy service for children ages 6 months through 16 years who have difficulty engaging in typical activities of childhood due to medical conditions, developmental challenges, or injury. 
• A program of occupational therapy that helps children develop skills to enhance their participation in self-care, play, and school activities.
• A student-run program, supervised by faculty in the occupational therapy program at SMU. 

About the Pediatric OT Program

Our program consists of nine visits, with the first visit being an examination and parent interview followed by treatment sessions and concluding with a home program.

Visits are designed to improve an important area of functioning in the participant’s life, such as:

• Self-care skills (teeth-brushing, dressing, utensil use for self-feeding)
• Visual-motor and visual perceptual skills (eye-hand coordination, handwriting)
• Fine motor (using hands to manipulate items)
• Functional gross motor skills for play (using the whole body to move through space)  
• Social skills (turn-taking, play skills)
• Attention and self-regulation skills (learning to control energy level and emotions)*
• Environmental modification for participation in daily life activities

*Due to the student-run nature of our services, our CPL does not provide services to address behavior issues, complex sensory processing issues, or swallowing/feeding difficulties. These are considered areas of advanced practice and are best served by practitioners who have advanced level training in these areas. Children should have a need for skill development in one of the areas listed above to be a good fit for our CPL services.