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By Dave DeFusco

At the 2025 AOTA Annual Conference, Leeyah Azizi, a 2024 graduate of the Katz School’s Occupational Therapy Doctorate, presented a service project designed to support parents of neurodiverse children navigating life in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In collaboration with classmate Dalia Planer, Azizi began the project with a simple but powerful observation: Parents, whether their children had disabilities or not, felt abandoned. The pandemic had transformed homes into classrooms, therapy centers and workplaces all at once, and the strain was especially profound for families of neurodiverse children, whose developmental needs are often complex and highly individualized.

“We realized there was a gap not only in support services but also in how support was delivered,” said Azizi. “Parents weren’t asking for miracles—they were asking for practical, grounded strategies. Many said, ‘Tell me how to help my child without losing myself in the process.’ That was a clear call for action.”

The COVID-19 pandemic left no family untouched, but research shows that neurodiverse families were especially vulnerable. Studies have documented a rise in emotional and behavioral challenges among neurodiverse children, as well as soaring levels of stress, anxiety and burnout among their parents. The burden was particularly intense for parents of young children, who often lost access to therapy, school-based support and government assistance—essential lifelines that families had come to rely on.

In many households, parents were forced to act as untrained therapists, leading to ruptures in parent-child bonds and a breakdown in family routines. “Parents described feeling not only helpless, but incompetent,” said Azizi. “They weren’t just worried about regression in their child’s development—they felt like they were failing as caregivers.”

Recognizing this urgent need, Azizi and Planer conducted a formal needs assessment project to understand the experiences and unmet needs of parents with neurodiverse children ages 2 to 7. They reviewed existing literature, designed a semi-structured interview guide and conducted hour-long phone interviews with parents whose children were diagnosed with neurodevelopmental conditions.

From these interviews, a recurring theme emerged: Parents needed help understanding their children’s behaviors, learning to advocate for them and, perhaps most critically, caring for themselves.

Led by Dr. Amiya Waldman-Levi, director of scholarship and research in the Occupational Therapy Doctorate, Azizi and Planer developed a Tier 1 Educational Training Program, the first of its kind specifically designed for parents of neurodiverse children in this age group. Grounded in a strengths-based, family-centered approach, the program emphasized emotional resilience and practical knowledge.

“Tier 1 interventions are proactive and universal, and that was our vision,” said Azizi. “We didn’t want a diagnostic checklist or a crisis manual. We wanted something hopeful, adaptable and grounded in the everyday realities of parents’ lives.”

Each session included a presentation and a 10-minute Q&A. Slides featured developmentally appropriate examples, from imaginative solo play to passive group activities, framed in an affirming tone: “No one play is better than the other. What matters is that your child feels safe to explore in their own way.”

After piloting the program with two parents of neurodiverse children, Azizi and Planer distributed pre- and post-session surveys, both multiple choice and open-ended. The feedback was immediate and affirming.

“Parents reported that they not only learned new strategies, but that they saw their children’s play—and their own role in supporting it—in a new light,” said Azizi. “One parent told us that just hearing that it was okay to not always be perfect made her feel 10 pounds lighter.”

Another key outcome was the realization that the program could be beneficial to all parents of children ages 2 to 7, regardless of diagnosis. While the initial focus was on neurodiverse families, the content—resilience, advocacy, child development—had universal value.

Dr. Waldman-Levi praised Azizi’s work as a model of evidence-based, community-responsive service.

“This project exemplifies what it means to be both clinician and advocate,” said Dr. Waldman-Levi. “Leeyah and Dalia translated research into action by listening deeply to families and then designing a program rooted in empathy, science and practical value. Their work contributes to a much-needed conversation on how occupational therapy can support whole-family systems, especially in the wake of societal trauma.”