Erin Klein

Background

About Erin Klein

I am a pediatric occupational therapist with over 20 years of clinical experience. I have worked in a variety of settings, including hospital, school, and community care providing therapy services for children and youth with support needs and their families. I continue to work as a clinical OT providing teletherapy services to Indigenous communities. My research career has provided me with opportunities to advocate for changes for families raising children with/at risk for Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). DCD is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that impacts learning and performing motor skills. Working with Dr. Jill Zwicker, we distributed the impACT for DCD questionnaire to understand the challenges and needs of Canadian parents/caregivers of child(ren) who have a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of DCD. Families identified the lack of knowledge and understanding amongst healthcare providers that contributed to a long wait list for diagnosis and treatment, impacting access to early identification and early intervention. To build capacity for early identification, results from this study informed the successful funding application for the CIHR Planning and Dissemination Grant that will be used to co-create The DCD Toolkit for Primary Care Providers, an informative guide and webinar for family physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. I have also secured funding to co-develop a DCD Toolkit for families, as parents also identified the need for more information to help them advocate for their children. I have first-authored three journal publications based on the impACT study exploring parent-identified needs for school and community-based therapy (Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2023), diagnostic services (Child, Care, Health and Development,2024), and caregiver burden (Research in Developmental Disabilities, 2024) adding to the growing body of literature on the need for timely, coordinated, and funded care for diagnostic and rehabilitative services. In addition to my clinical and research experience, I have also participated in continuing education courses to build capacity on implementation science, family engagement, and best practices for engagement with Indigenous communities. These include becoming a Level 1 Implementation Support Specialist, participation in the Family Engagement in Research course through Kids Brain Health, and certification in San'yas training, Indigenous Research Methodologies, and The Fundamentals of OCAP®