Elizabeth Larson

Associate Professor,
Occupational Therapy

blarson@education.wisc.edu

(608) 262-0520

2180 Medical Sciences Center

1300 University Avenue

Madison, WI 53706-1509

Larson, Elizabeth

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Dr. Larson is an occupational therapist and occupational scientist with thirty years of clinical and research experience working with children with disabilities and their families. Her research uses mixed methods approaches to examine the impact of managing the child’s disability on the family and especially the caregiver. She employs multi-faceted approaches to gain a deeper understanding of the caregiver’s perspectives and daily lived experience including the use of participant-grounded methods such as interviews, focus groups, and participant observation within the family homes, in concert with well-validated well-being measures, and biomarkers of health. The overarching goal of her work is to investigate how the caregiver’s organization and orchestration of daily activities tailored to the child’s developmental needs promotes or impedes family functioning, and in turn influences the caregiver’s health and well-being.

Select Publications

  • Larson, E., & Miller-Bishoff, T. (2014). Family Routines Within the Ecological Niche: An Analysis of Psychological Well-Being of U.S. Caregivers of Children with Disabilities. Frontiers in Psychology, 5 (pp. 495).
  • Larson, E. (2013). TOTA Keynote Lecture: Bridging from clinic to home: Occupation-based family-centered practice. Journal of Taiwan Occupational Therapy Research and Practice, 31, 7-29.
  • Larson, E. (2012). Ethics in Occupational Therapy Research. In J. Scott & M. Reitz (Eds.), Practical Applications for the Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics and Ethics Standards Rockville, MD: American Occupational Therapy Press.
  • Larson, E., & von Eye, A. (2010). Beyond flow: Temporality and participation in everyday activities.. Sharon Gutman (Ed.), American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 64, 152-63. BETHESDA, MD 20814-3425: American Occupational Therapy Association Online Publication/Abstract.
  • Larson, E. (2010). Ever vigilant: Maternal support of participation in daily life for children with disabilities. Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 16-27. Wiley and Sons Online Publication/Abstract.
  • Larson, E. (2010). Psychological Well-Being and Meaning-Making When Caregiving for Children With Disabilities: Growth Through Difficult Times or Sinking Inward. Jane Case Smith (Ed.), OTJR-OCCUPATION PARTICIPATION AND HEALTH, 30(2), 78-86. THOROFARE, NJ 08086: Slack INC Online Publication/Abstract.
  • Larson, E. (2010). What constitutes well-being in challenging life circumstances: Identifying relevant well-being indicators for caregivers of children with disabilities?. Occupational Therapy International, 17, 29-39. Wiley International Online Publication/Abstract.

Select Presentations

  • Larson, E., & Bishoff-Miller, T. (20142014). "It All Revolves Around his Needs": Caregiver'sWell-being and Orchestration of Family Routines Within the Ecocultural Niche. presented at the Tenth International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
  • Choi, Y., & Larson, E. (20142014). Using Mixed Methods to Explore Preceived Lifestyle Balance in College Students. presented at the Tenth International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
  • Choi, Y., & Larson, E. (2014, June - 2014, June). Perceived Lifestyle Balance in College Students. presented at the 16th International Congress of the World Federation of Occupational Therapy, Yojohama, Japan.
  • Larson, E. (20132013). Lifestyle Balance for Caregivers: Developing a Wellness Program. presented at the Wisconsin Occupational Therapy Annual Conference, Oconomowoc, WI.
  • Larson, E. (2013, June - 2013, June). Changing Lives: Tailoring Occupation-Based Intervention for Family Life. presented at the Human Occupation and Praxis Symposium, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
  • Larson, E. (2012, November - 2012, November). Keynote: Bridging from clinic to home: Occupation-based family-centered practice. presented at the Taiwan Occupational Therapy Annual Conference, Taichung, Taiwan.
  • Larson, E. (2012, November - 2012, November). Workshop: Designing occupation-based interventions for children with disabilities & their families. presented at the Taiwan Occupational Therapy Annual Conference, Taichung, Taiwan.
  • Larson, E. (2012, November - 2012, November). Workshop: Designing occupational-based interventions for children with disabilites an their families. presented at the Taiwan Occupational Therapy Annual Conference, Taichung, Taiwan.
  • Benedict, R., Larson, E., Auserdau, K., Farrar-Edwards, D., & Chen, R. (2012, November - 2012, November). Update on Current Occupational Therapy Research: Autism: Caregiving, Sensory Features & Feeding; Cerebral Palsy: Interventions, Child & Caregiver Outcomes; Stroke: Disparities & Treatment. presented at the Annual Conference of the Wisconsin Occupational Therapy Association, MIddleton, WI.
  • Benedict, R., Larson, E., Auserdau, K., Farrar-Edwards, D., & Chen, R. (2012, November - 2012, November). Update on Current Occupational Therapy REsearch; Autism: Caregiving, Sensory Features & Feeding; Cerebral Palsy: Interventions, Child & Caregiver Outcomes; Stroke: Disparitites & Treatment. presented at the Annual Conference of the Wisconsin Occupational Therapy Association, Middleton, WI.