Students enrolled in OTD 517: Enabling Occupational Skills III put their knowledge of the OT process in community-based settings into practice at B3 Coffee.
B3 Coffee is a nonprofit that seeks to foster neurodiversity within the community. Greg Boheler, MSOT, OTR/L, is the co-founder of B3 Coffee and OT’s for Neurodiversity. This summer, students have been designing community-based interventions and equitable approaches to facilitating the OT process in group-based settings.
B3 aims to foster a strong sense of community through meaningful engagement in occupations and activities: Being, Belonging, and Becoming. Similarly, these 3 B’s are foundational to our understanding as emerging OTs in our efforts to provide equitable and inclusive care for individuals of all abilities.
Students teamed up in groups of four to five and facilitated client-centered, group interventions among individuals with intellectual disabilities who work at B3 Coffee. Topics ranged from speaking/listening skills, interdependence, work skills, life balance, wellness strategies, community mobility, navigating GPS, mind-body-spirit, navigating relationships, and social planning. The process helped students practice planning and facilitating group- and community-based interventions, rooted in evidence-based practice.
"It was rewarding to see how the students' group interventions reflected B3 and the Duke OTD’s shared value of occupational justice. It was clear that the students cared about connecting with B3 members and centering their interventions around the needs of the community," said Caroline Lass, OTD Class of 2024 student who is completing her Level II fieldwork at B3.