Sarah Smith is a woman with blonde hair and a black blouse standing in front of a brick building on the UNH campus.

Sarah Smith

NH-ME LEND Program Director, NH-ME LEND
Associate Professor
NH-ME LEND Program Director
Phone: (603) 862-2463
Office: Occupational Therapy, Hewitt Hall Room 119, Durham, NH 03824
Websites:
Pronouns: She/her/hers

<p>Sarah L. Smith, DSc, OTR/L is an Associate Professor at the Unviersity of New Hampshire's Department of Occupational Therapy as well as the Program Director of the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Program in the Institute on Disability.</p>
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<p>Dr. Smith has over 25 years experience as a pediatric occupational therapist, practicing in school and outpatient settings. Dr. Smith roots her teaching and research in her work with children and families and the need to provide services that not only support individual children but that also prioritize families participation in everyday meaningful activities.</p>
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<p>Dr. Smith is the program director for the New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Program (NH-ME LEND). In this capacity, Dr. Smith is the Principal Investigator of a $2.6 million workforce training grant to provide interdisciplinary leadership skills in improving the systems of care and health of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families. &nbsp;<br><br>Dr. Smith is the director of the UNH Healthy Families Research Program in which she examines the specific factors and processes that promote strong family health, as well as the relationship between everyday family activities and family health in order to inform effective family supports. Dr. Smith's Healthy Families Flourish Program is a parent coaching intervention provided via telehealth to support family activity participation. She has published and presented her work nationally in high-impact, interdisciplinary journals.&nbsp;</p>
<p><br>Dr. Smith earned the 2021 College of Health and Human Services Excellence in Teaching Award and the 2022 University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center College of Allied Health's 2022 Distinguished OUHSC Doctor of Science Alumni Award.</p>

Courses Taught

  • OT 695: Independent Study
  • OT 710: OT Practice Professional Roles
  • OT 762: OT Eval & Interv for Children
  • OT 762/862: OT Eval & Interv for Children
  • OT 762L: OT Eval & InterforChildren Lab
  • OT 762R: OT Eval & Inter Children-Recit
  • OT 781: Research Methods I
  • OT 782: Research Methods II
  • OT 782/882: Research Methods II
  • OT 785: Research Methods
  • OT 791: Senior Honors Thesis
  • OT 810: OT Practice Professional Roles
  • OT 862: OT Eval &Intervention Children
  • OT 862R: OT Eval&Intervention Child Rec
  • OT 881: Research Methods I
  • OT 882: Research Methods II
  • OT 886: Engagement in Research

Education

  • D.Sc., Rehabilitation Science, University of Oklahoma
  • B.S., Occupational Therapy, Colorado State University

Research Interests

  • Autism
  • Family
  • Pediatrics/Paediatrics
  • Rehabilitation/Therapy, Occupation/Vocation
  • Telemedicine

Selected Publications

  • Thompson, A. L., & Smith, S. L. (2025). The process of adaptation: Parents' journey navigating their child's chronic health condition diagnosis.. J Pediatr Rehabil Med, 18(1), 78-86. doi:10.1177/18758894241292147

  • Henly, M., Phillips, K. G., Smith, S. L., Kloza, E. M., & Brucker, D. L. (2023). Referral networks for pediatric patients with genetic conditions: The perspective of occupational therapists.. J Genet Couns, 32(5), 982-992. doi:10.1002/jgc4.1706

  • Smith, S. L., Vaquerano, J., Humphreys, B. P., & Aytur, S. A. (2023). Parent Satisfaction With a Telehealth Parent Coaching Intervention to Support Family Participation.. OTJR (Thorofare N J), 43(3), 531-539. doi:10.1177/15394492231164942

  • Smith, S., Aytur, S., & Humphreys, E. (2022). Effects of telehealth parent coaching in supporting family participation, cohesion, and adaptability. OTJR Occupation, Participation and Health. doi:10.1177/15394492221083664

  • Smith, S. L., & McQuade, H. B. (2021). Exploring the health of families with a child with autism. AUTISM, 25(5), 1203-1215. doi:10.1177/1362361320986354

  • Smith, S., & Melanson, A. (2020). What Families Do Together: An Examination of Family Occupations Affording Family Connection and Identity Cultivation. In The American Journal of Occupational Therapy Vol. 74 (pp. 7411505235p1). AOTA Press. doi:10.5014/ajot.2020.74s1-po9116

  • Belarmino, J. A. S., Smith, S. L., & Jewell, V. D. (2020). Extent of Use and Linkage of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health to Frames of Reference and Interventions in Pediatric Occupational Therapy. Annals of International Occupational Therapy, 3(2), 69-77. doi:10.3928/24761222-20191125-01

  • Smith, S., Ramey, E., Sisson, S., Richardson, S., & DeGrace, B. (2019). The family meal model: Influences on family mealtime participation. OTJR Occupation, Participation and Health, 40(2), 138-146. doi:10.1177/1539449219876878

  • Watson, M. A., Jewell, V. D., & Smith, S. L. (2018). Journey Interrupted: A Phenomenological Exploration of Miscarriage. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 6(3). doi:10.15453/2168-6408.1439

  • Villasenor, R. F., Smith, S. L., & Jewell, V. D. (2018). A systematic review of sound-based intervention programs to improve participation in education for children with sensory processing and integration challenges. JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY SCHOOLS AND EARLY INTERVENTION, 11(2), 172-191. doi:10.1080/19411243.2018.1432444

  • Smith, S. L., DeGrace, B., Ciro, C., Bax, A., Hambrick, A., James, J., & Evans, A. (2017). Exploring families' experiences of health: contributions to a model of family health.. Psychol Health Med, 22(10), 1239-1247. doi:10.1080/13548506.2017.1319069

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