Aging and Developmental Disability

Joy Hammel, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, is Assistant Professor in the Departments of Occupational Therapy and Disability and Human Development, and on the faculty of the Joint Doctoral Program in Disability Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She received her PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and her BS in Occupational Therapy from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Dr. Hammel has worked as an OTR for over 13 years, served as past Chair of the American Occupational Therapy Special Interest Section, and is currently Principal Investigator on several federal research grants. Her research focuses on the supports and barriers to community living experienced by disabled people and older adults, including the long term use, outcomes, and funding of assistive technology and environmental interventions. Susan M. Nochajski, PhD, OTR/L, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. Dr. Nochajski has BS and MS degrees in Occupational Therapy and a PhD in Special Education from the University at Buffalo. She has over twenty years of clinical experience in occupational therapy working primarily with persons of all ages with developmental disabilities. Dr. Nochajski's current research interests involve the use and functional impact of assistive technology by persons with disabilities,.particularly by persons with intellectual disabilities as they age and by students with disabilities as they transition from secondary education to adult settings.