Philadelphia

This last April, we had the opportunity to go to Philadelphia. Last year, I was accepted to present my graduate research at this year's American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Annual Conference. My group's research was on Integrated Play Groups, an intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder addressing social and play skills. Our group interviewed expert OTs to investigate the efficacy of this intervention. It was interesting stuff and I was thrilled we were chosen to present at the conference poster presentation. In case you are unfamiliar with poster presentations, basically I made a giant, professional poster that gave an overview of my research. I stood in front of my poster for two hours while OTs, and OT students came by to read my poster and ask me questions about my research. I felt like a real professional! I also enjoyed interacting with other OT professionals.
Nate came with me because he has a friend in Philly, Steve. Steve was nice enough to let us stay with him. I was at my conference all day Saturday, presenting my research poster and attending OT seminars. Nate had fun that day spending time with Steve. On Sunday, we all went to a Phillies game. It was a fun game and a beautiful stadium (still doesn't beat the charm of AT&T park or those garlic fries!). Later we checked out some of the popular sites (Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the Rocky statue!) and then had dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant. We flew out Monday. It was a short but fun trip! Enjoy the pictures!

Presenting my poster

My professor who was very helpful and supportive throughout my entire research process.

Independence Hall