{"id":18304,"date":"2024-10-30T08:39:21","date_gmt":"2024-10-30T12:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/?p=18304"},"modified":"2024-10-22T13:41:02","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T17:41:02","slug":"elizabethtown-college-occupational-therapy-doctorate-student-helps-launch-gigis-playhouse-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/2024\/10\/30\/elizabethtown-college-occupational-therapy-doctorate-student-helps-launch-gigis-playhouse-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabethtown College Occupational Therapy Doctorate Student Helps Launch Gigi\u2019s Playhouse Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elizabethtown College Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) student Gabriella Stawinski \u201923, OTD \u201925, recently helped to launch GigiFIT Infant, a program to address developmental needs in infants with Down Syndrome at Gigi\u2019s Playhouse in Lancaster<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Gabriella Stawinski ’23, OTD ’25<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cEtown\u2019s Occupational Therapy Program has a focus on applying our knowledge to the real world, which led me to explore working with a niche population while also giving back to the community by teaching at Gigi\u2019s Playhouse,\u201d Stawinski said. \u201cI used my knowledge of pediatric occupational therapy that I learned at Etown to help launch this program, and I can utilize this lens to individualize the class to each child\u2019s needs.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The program is part of Gigi\u2019s Playhouse\u2019s GiGiFIT programs<\/a>, developmental movement classes focused on addressing common physical issues for people with Down Syndrome, such as balance and core strength.<\/p>\n

Stawinski launched GigiFIT Infant during her doctoral capstone studies at Etown. She was the program instructor for the class over 12 weeks this past spring and plans to use Gigi\u2019s Playhouse as the site for her OTD capstone to be completed in Spring 2025.<\/p>\n

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A GiGiFIT Infant agenda developed by Stawinski.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe best part of teaching this program was seeing all the babies progress,\u201d Stawinski said. \u201cAt Gigi\u2019s, we focus on celebrating our \u2018best of all\u2019 moments, and this means acknowledging that every day we work toward our goal. Over 12 weeks I got to see babies roll, sit, and walk for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stawinski also led Gigi\u2019s Playhouse\u2019s nutrition programming for adults and teens once per week, drawing on her experience working for the Bowers Center\u2019s Student Wellness Advocacy Group (SWAG)<\/a> during her time on campus as an undergraduate student.<\/p>\n

As an undergraduate, Stawinski also participated in E-Motion, Etown\u2019s student-led dance club. The club donates to Gigi\u2019s Playhouse each year and features dancers from Gigi\u2019s Playhouse program in their showcase. In the club\u2019s Spring 2024 Showcase, Stawinski performed with Gigi\u2019s Playhouse dancers, providing visual cues and aiding in the performance.<\/p>\n

About Gigi\u2019s Playhouse<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gigi\u2019s Playhouse is a nationwide nonprofit network of Down Syndrome achievement centers with 61 locations across the United States. The organization provides free educational, therapeutic-based, and career development programs for those with Down Syndrome, their families, and communities. Gigi\u2019s Playhouse in Lancaster opened in 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elizabethtown College Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) student Gabriella Stawinski \u201923, OTD \u201925, recently helped to launch GigiFIT Infant, a program to address developmental needs in infants with Down Syndrome at Gigi\u2019s Playhouse in Lancaster. \u201cEtown\u2019s Occupational Therapy Program has a focus on applying our knowledge to the real world, which led me to explore […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":154,"featured_media":18312,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1338,775],"tags":[2411,309,294,2240],"class_list":["post-18304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics-and-research","category-campus","tag-doctor-of-occupational-therapy","tag-educate-for-service","tag-occupational-therapy","tag-otd","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/154"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18304"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18355,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18304\/revisions\/18355"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}