HOT TOPIC: Advancing Aquatic Occupational Therapy as a Practice Area
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2026
2:45 PM – 3:15 PM
Course Description
Drowning is a leading cause of death for children ages 1-4 and remains a leading cause for children on the autism spectrum up through age 14 (Guan & Li, 2017). Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are 160 times more likely to drown in comparison to their neurotypical peers. While participation in swim lessons has shown to reduce the risk of drowning in a typical population (Brenner, et al, 2009), parents report that their children with varying disabilities do not learn to swim in traditional community lessons (Mische Lawson, et al, 2019). Occupational therapy practitioners are uniquely positioned to step into the gap of providing skilled, individualized intervention in the area of water competency for drowning prevention.
This session will introduce the emerging area of aquatic therapy to occupational therapy professionals including the novel concept of a swim care continuum, emphasizing the role of occupational therapy across levels of water safety and skill development. Aquatic occupational therapy has been shown to improve water competency skills in children on the autism spectrum (Kemp et al, 2023; Kemp et al 2026; Alaniz et al, 2017) as well as social participation (Alaniz et al, 2017) and sensory processing skills (Pataki, 2026). Occupational therapy practitioners are well positioned to contribute to the swim care continuum, working with existing aquatic professionals to enhance outcomes.
Speakers
OTR/L, BCP, FAOTA
OTR/L, ATRIC
Erika Kemp, OTD, OTR/L, BCP, FAOTA is an Associate Professor, Clinical, and Program Director in the Division of Occupational Therapy at The Ohio State University, where she has served in academic leadership roles since 2015, including Doctoral Capstone Coordinator and Academic Fieldwork Coordinator. She is board certified in pediatrics and has extensive clinical experience in pediatric settings, including at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Firelands Regional Medical Center, and school-based and early intervention programs. Her scholarship focuses on clinical education, doctoral capstone development, and aquatic occupational therapy to prevent drowning in children on the autism spectrum. She is the developer of the AquOTic program and has served as PI or Co-I on federally funded grants, including a $2.9 million Congressional Directed Medical Research Program Autism Clinical Trial Award beginning in 2025.
Dr. Kemp is a nationally recognized leader in occupational therapy education. She currently serves as Chair of the Commission on Education, an elected standing committee of the American Occupational Therapy Association, and previously served as Inaugural Chair of the Doctoral Capstone Coordinators–Academic Leadership Council. She has mentored dozens of doctoral students, published extensively in peer-reviewed journals including the American Journal of Occupational Therapy and the Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, and led the development of AOTA’s official document on the OT doctoral capstone. Dr. Kemp holds a post-professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy from Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, a post-professional Master of Occupational Therapy from Boston University, and a Bachelor of Science in Allied Health from The Ohio State University.
Content Level
Introductory: This level assumes the audience has little or no information regarding the content area.
Practice Areas
Children and Youth; Emerging Practice Area