Natalie Grazian is a second-year occupational therapy Master’s student in the UW Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. She was and raised in the San Diego area and has found her home here in Seattle.
Natalie is aiming to specialize in rehab for folks with limb loss and limb difference, particularly upper extremity. She is learning as much as she can about the physical, psychological, and societal aspects of living with less than two arms and ten fingers to better understand the barriers that each individual faces, and how to support their unique strengths and goals.
Ultimately Natalie wants to find (or create) a role for herself where she can help clients do the things they want and need to do. That could be finding adaptive techniques and devices for everyday life, selecting and training with a prosthesis, preventing and treating overuse injuries, managing chronic pain, returning to old hobbies and discovering new ones, exercising in a way that makes sense for their body, connecting with peer support, and having a safe space to process and problem-solve the social/societal implications of living with a visible difference.
This was all sparked by the need to create her own one-handed modifications for activities she cares about. Natlie was born with one hand, so she has been practicing OT on herself since day 1.
The more involved she has become in the limb-different community, the more aware Natalie is of how singular each experience is, and where there seem to be gaps in support.
Natalie is interested in the physical and psychosocial functions of prostheses, and how we as individuals can use (or not use) prostheses to connect with our true goals and values.
Another major interest is related to intersectionality – how age, gender, race, nationality, culture, body size, and socioeconomic status impact the experience of limb loss/difference, in terms of stigma and health outcomes
Natalie is excited for her fieldwork placements, one of which will be in outpatient rehab at the VA. Her second fieldwork is still up in the air, and after that, she will start turning my ambitions into reality (read: get a job)
In her spare time, Natalie loves to hang out with her husband, friends, cat, and dog; yoga, long walks, live music; being near a body of water on warm days; crocheting and reading on chilly evenings
Natlie recently had the opportunity to collaborate on a poster for the 2024 AOTA conference. The poster was about the current state of inequity in OT education for students with disabilities, and it invites conversation on how to advance equity further. The project was led by Sarah Tuberty, an OT practitioner and doctoral candidate at Christian Woman’s University. Last year she looped in myself and Madelyn Hubbs, an MOT student at Maryville University of St. Louis, to help research and write the proposal and subsequent poster.
Their next step is advocating for the inclusion of students and faculty who identify as disabled into the demographic data that AOTA, our national professional organization, collects each year from academic OT programs. AOTA currently collects annual data on race, ethnicity, and gender, but not disability. Having this data would give us insight necessary to identify inequities, address patterns of bias and discrimination, tailor support and resources, and create a more inclusive environment in the OT profession.
Additionally, along with five other OT students and practitioners with limb differences, Natalie co-authored an article in OT Practice Magazine that provides an intro education on terminology, physical and psychosocial considerations, and therapy resources for supporting clients with upper limb differences