Mckenna Menard works with children in the Downside Up class at White Oak Methodist Church in Red Bank. Photo by Angela Foster.
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga graduate student Mckenna Menard grew up around 30 foster children her parents took in at their Knoxville, Tennessee, home but plans to make her occupational therapy living by working with adults with disabilities.
Menard will graduate in May with an occupational therapy doctoral degree.
Menard is so committed to working with children now that she’s a volunteer swim coach with Special Olympics and, with her husband Matthew, took in her own foster child a year ago—one with abusive head trauma and who had to be taken from his biological parents. When she graduates this spring, she hopes to work with adults to vary her experiences.
“I have obviously grown up fostering, and I have a very big heart for that. And so I anticipate that in five years I will probably be working with adults, but it’s because I’ve always said I wanted to work with adults professionally so that I can be a good therapist to the kids in my home—and that I’m not burned out working with kids all day and then kids at home,” Menard said.
Her capstone project—a capstone is like a master’s thesis but for OT doctoral students—is working with Downside Up, a nonprofit started by a Chattanooga mother of a child with Down syndrome. Menard works with the full range of special-needs children on everything from preschool potty training to helping middle schoolers develop socialization skills.
The Downside Up founder, Theresa Nix, learned her baby son had Down syndrome and then received a plethora of pitying apologies. That was the impetus for starting her group, which serves 150 children and hundreds of family members, Menard said.
“My goal is to give them something sustainable that they can use even after I leave,” said Menard, who recently held an Easter egg hunt where the eggs were strapped to balloons and in tableside baskets so the children, even those in wheelchairs, could see and reach them. She also teaches caregivers and instructors how to properly lift children in wheelchairs onto the toilet without straining the caregivers’ backs.
“Occupational therapy is working to help individuals meet and do the things that they want to do in a day, the things that are most important to them,” said Menard, who lives in East Ridge with her husband of five years and their son.
She grew up in East Knoxville with a mother who is a registered nurse and a father who heads the plant science department at UT Knoxville.
“For a lot of people, obviously social participation is super important and there has been a really big push recently with the mental health component,” she said, “so actually, our occupational therapists are mental health providers as well.
“Every kid, no matter what their abilities are, they have goals, they have dreams. They may see the world a little bit differently, but they’re very similar to you in more ways than you realize.”
UTC Professor Erin Pemberton Melhorn said capstone projects are crucial for students to translate classroom knowledge to the field.
“The capstone program is the very last thing for OTD students before going out into the world. It’s an opportunity for students to take everything they’ve learned in the classroom and field and apply it to non-traditional settings. We try to pair them with a community partner that advances their knowledge,” said Melhorn, a UTC assistant professor and the doctoral capstone coordinator.
“Occupational therapy has the unique ability to really look holistically at health care and helps people to be physically healthy and emotionally prepared for challenges,” said Melhorn, who has taught at UTC for seven years after earning degrees from Belmont University in Nashville and UTK. “It’s the entire person: body, mind and spirit, and helps clients really live successful lives. No matter what’s going on with you, an occupational therapist can help reframe and refocus that.”
Raven Smith demonstrates the checks that she does in homes to make sure that they can accommodate aging or clients with disabilities.
UTC OT doctoral student Raven Smith, a Lookout Valley native graduating in May, is working with Habitat for Humanity to make sure new builds or existing homes can accommodate people with disabilities. Shower grab bars and door handles are lower and doorways wider to allow for wheelchairs. Windows are lower or have beds next to them in case of emergency escapes.
“Whenever I first shadowed an OT, when I was a senior in high school, I went in and saw a patient and his goal was that he wanted to be able to walk down the aisle at his granddaughter’s wedding. He did. And so that’s kind of what drew me in. I love how it’s not just doing everyday things; it’s doing everyday things that are meaningful to the client,” Smith said.
“Another reason I chose OT was because we get to help people do normal things that most ordinary people take for granted, and I love the problem-solving aspect of the job. Sometimes you have to get really creative to make things work for a client.”
Other UTC OTD students who will graduate May 3 include:
- Hannah Afman, working with Centro Hispano de East Tennessee in completing program development with a concentration on maternal health in the East Tennessee Latinx community—as well as the development of community health programs that support health and wellness.
- Caitlin Murphy, Arthritis Associates, program development and creating a self-management guide to promote health and wellness for individuals with rheumatoid arthritis.
- Chelsea Cutler, Creative Discovery Museum in Chattanooga, improving accessibility at the museum.
- Christian Thomas, World Relief, developing advanced clinical practice skills to improve occupational performance of resettled refugees upon entry to the United States.
- Courtney Yarborough, Adaptive Sports and Recreation of Houston, developing skills by creating and implementing an adaptive scuba diving program for adults with physical disabilities.
- Cynthia Coronel, Dalton State (Georgia) College, training peer tutors/mentors for first-generation students; additionally, significant advocacy for occupational therapy around campus.
- Hannah Carvel, Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation in Chattanooga, working on Siskin’s concussion program interdisciplinary team with physical therapy and neuropsychology to develop an occupational therapy guide for assessment and intervention of patients with concussions.
- Hunter Brandon, Little Tennessee Valley Educational Cooperative in Loudon, Tennessee, developing a virtual assistive technology (AT) repurpose closet and advanced clinical practice with kids using AT in the schools.
- Jenna Stork, North River Family YMCA in Hixson, modifying its adaptive swim lesson program by improving through a training manual the marketing and sustainability of services and training of staff to work with children with disabilities.
- Kaitlin Crump, Developmental Services of Dickson County, Tennessee, developing basketball, finances and fall prevention programs for individuals with developmental disabilities.
- Kaitlyn Springer, Blue Monarch in Monteagle, Tennessee, using a trauma-informed care model to develop education and intervention programs for mothers in substance use recovery and the staff that provide their care.
- Katelyn Lancaster, Walker County (Georgia) School System, incorporating a recess program into an elementary school and an advanced clinical practice.
- Kirsten Todd, Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Hospital in Knoxville, learning more about the administrative role of occupational therapy and how OT is vital in proper coding on admission and discharge.
- Libby McClure, CHI Memorial Hospital Chattanooga, creating resources for the stroke rehabilitation group and gaining advanced skills in acute stroke rehab.
- Mary Tolomeo, Hixson First Baptist and Christ First Church, gaining skills in advocacy and program development to support inclusion for individuals with disabilities in faith-based communities.
- Nick Overton, Huntsville (Alabama) Hospital System, developing advanced clinical practice skills in the acute care setting while also creating a training guide for students and new graduates to improve their onboarding.
- Sam White, Northeast Georgia Medical Center system, working with Project SEARCH to improve job-skills training for participants who work at the hospitals.
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