Using Occupational Therapy to Promote Literacy

For her capstone project for the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program at Touro University’s School of Health Sciences, Daniella Soba designed and implemented a community-based program in the Bronx, using occupational therapy principles to support functional literacy and reading confidence among children. Capstone projects in the OTD program are ideally focused on addressing the needs of those who have been traditionally underserved.

“In occupational therapy, we support people in carrying out their most meaningful occupations,” said Soba, who works as an occupational therapist at the Rose F. Kennedy Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center in Montefiore. “So many of those occupations depend on reading.”

Identifying a Community Need

As a regular volunteer at Our Savior Church’s School of Peace—a church serving families from diverse backgrounds, including immigrant and refugee households—Soba was able to observe the community’s needs firsthand.

“When I started the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program, one of our first courses introduced conducting a needs assessment,” Soba said. “I conducted a needs assessment by asking families and volunteers what their biggest needs were. Reading constantly kept coming up. When I volunteer on Saturdays, we don’t usually do academic activities, but parents often ask for help with reading homework.”

Applying Occupational Therapy Research

Functional literacy has not traditionally been a focus of occupational therapy, though recent research has begun to explore its role in the field. Soba drew on research by Dr. Lenin Grajo of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who has examined how occupational therapists can support functional literacy. She also worked closely with her capstone mentor, Dorothy Handley-More, with whom she was paired through Touro.

“Dr. Grajo’s research suggests that occupational therapists can promote functional reading through fun and engaging literacy activities,” Soba said. “Children can build stronger reading habits, develop confidence, and begin to see themselves as readers.”

‘Reading is Already Happening’

The four-week program ran on Saturdays and incorporated games and everyday tasks that required reading. In one session, parents and children played Boggle together in small groups, searching for words. In another, families worked through a simple meal-planning activity, reading printed materials and discussing how those skills translate to shopping and cooking at home. The group also played word-guessing games such as Headbands, which relied on peer interaction and verbal cues.

“I wanted parents to see that reading doesn’t only have to take place during a separate block of time,” Soba said. “It’s already happening in the home and in the community.”

Most participating parents were Spanish-speaking, and materials were provided in both English and Spanish. Between 10 and 20 children took part in the sessions, including some who were already involved in other church programs. Participation in surveys was optional.

“Even if families chose not to complete the survey, I still wanted them to gain something from being there,” Soba said.

Measuring Impact

Soba administered pre- and post-surveys to measure children’s reading confidence and daily reading habits, as well as parents’ confidence in supporting reading at home. The children’s surveys used a three-point scale with emojis to accommodate varying reading levels.

“We asked things like, ‘I think I’m a good reader,’ and ‘I read signs in my community,’” Soba said.

By the end of the program, all participating children reported that reading was fun, compared to four out of six in the pre-survey. More children also reported reading aloud and reading signs in their community.

“Those functional reading behaviors were what we were really looking at,” Soba said.

Parent surveys showed increased confidence in knowing different ways to practice reading and a clearer understanding of how reading connects to daily activities. “As adults, we take learning certain skills, like reading, for granted,” Soba said.

Soba hopes to continue the program in some form. For her, the capstone project reflected the broader reach of occupational therapy.

“As occupational therapists, our mission is to help people accomplish their goals throughout their lives,” she said. “Reading is vital from the time a child reads a toy manual to eventually reading an essay, a text message, or a medication label. Occupational therapy is about function and promoting occupation, and to do that, we need to find ways to promote reading.”