April - 2021

WHAT'S NEW AT AUSTIN HATCHER FOUNDATION?

Celebrating Occupational Therapy

By Tammy Gipson, MS, OTR/L Thirty years of being an Occupational Therapist (OT) leaves me with multiple questions. First, how have I been an OT for 30 years? Wasn’t it just yesterday I was a brand new therapist starting on my journey in the therapeutic world? Second, am I ever not wearing my OT hat? Will I ever just go somewhere, and not think, “oh I could adapt that” or “I could help him or her with just a little bit of time”? Third, and probably most importantly, is ther

Celebrating Occupational Therapy

The Importance of STEAM Education

By Beth Baker, STEAM Curriculum Coordinator At the turn of the 21st century, there was concern that America was lagging behind other countries in Math and Science achievement in schools. In 2001, the National Science Foundation introduced the concept of "STEM- based education" in an attempt to close the gap. Later, art was added and the idea of a "STEAM Educational Framework" was coined by Georgette Yakman, a Middle and High School Engineering and Technology teacher. In my o

The Importance of STEAM Education

The Art of Woodworking

By Dave Owens, Woodworking and Arts Educator Woodworking is an activity that wears many hats. It can be thought of as very utilitarian or elevated to a pure art form. I’ll be honest; I tend to elevate any woodworking to art. It wasn’t always this way, but the more times I ride this planet around the sun, the more I tend to appreciate wood as a form of art. When I was younger, I would see a wooden sculpture and call it art. That is easy to do because it was meant as art. I wou

The Art of Woodworking