Human Trafficking, Immigration, and the Emerging Role of Occupational Therapy Practitioners

Thursday, August 22, 2024, 5:30 PM- 7:30 PM CDT

Hosted by the West District

Register Here

About This Course: Occupational therapy practitioners and students can contribute unique value to the anti-human trafficking movement. Foundational information relative to OT includes human trafficking basics, types of trafficking, immigration perspectives, biopsychosocial deficits in trafficked persons, research sources, and current approaches. Learn methods to educate therapy staff/students, develop novel fieldwork/capstone projects, and “small things to do” to increase awareness and combat trafficking.

In preparation for this course, participants are encouraged to check out two blogs written by our presenter, Toni Thompson: 

• What's the Connection Between Occupational Therapy and Human Trafficking?
• Human Trafficking: The People Behind Forced Marriage

Course Objectives:

1. Define connections between world immigration, refugees, immigrants, and trafficking.
2. Provide an overview of types of trafficking based on the United Nations 3-P Protocol.
3. Provide ways for OT practitioners and students to fight trafficking in every-day actions.

Toni Thompson, DrOT, OTR/L, NDT Therapy Ed, (She/Her) earned her Occupational Therapy degree with high honors from the University of Illinois and completed her DrOT at Nova Southeastern University in 2017. Her work experience includes the Peace Corps/Ecuador; the National Cerebral Palsy Association in Caracas, Venezuela; adult mental health in FL and IL; and some work in skilled nursing care. While at Shriners Hospitals for Children-Tampa for 22 years, she developed various OT and multi-disciplinary programs, earned certification in NDT-Pediatrics, Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests, Assisting Hand Assessment, and fabricated over 10,000 pediatric orthoses. She has presented at multiple state, national, and international OT, prosthetic-orthotic, and human trafficking conferences. She authored three chapters in OT cultural competence works, over 40 professional articles in OT, PT, travel, and orthotic-prosthetic publications, and the first human trafficking CEU directed to OT practitioners (American Occupational Therapy Association). Along with 2 practitioners, they established the Facebook group “Occupational Therapy Human Trafficking Network” which serves as a dynamic base for OT involvement in anti-trafficking with a multi-disciplinary approach. Volunteer experiences include OT projects in Jamaica, Uruguay, Guatemala, Peru, and a 2-week service project at an orangutan sanctuary in Borneo. Currently, she mentors doctoral students on capstone projects in human trafficking and cultural humility. For 26 years, she has served as an instructor and content creator for TherapyEd exam preparation services and now provides caregiver services for family members with unique medical challenges.

CEU Opportunity: Free for members, $40 for non-members, 2 CEU hours