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Dr. Deanna Thorne, OTD, OTR/L is an Instructor of Occupational Therapy and Doctoral Capstone Coordinator in the Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program at the University of »¨½·Ö±²¥ in Leavenworth, Kan.

Dr. Thorne received her Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy in 1991 and the post-professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy in 2021 from the University of Kansas.

Dr. Thorne has been an occupational therapist for over 30 years working primarily in school-based practice. She also has clinical experience in pediatric and adult home health and skilled nursing settings.

Teaching has been a long-term pursuit for Dr. Thorne. Prior to joining USM, she served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Kansas teaching on pediatric feeding, clinical reasoning, and occupations across the lifespan. She has served as an academic fieldwork educator to numerous occupational therapy students and has provided professional development opportunities to peers and colleagues throughout her career. Dr. Thorne has been a faculty member at USM since 2021.

Dr. Thorne is passionate about children and youth, evidence-driven practices, universal design, and the use of assistive technology to improve individuals’ participation in necessary and preferred occupations. Dr. Thorne was instrumental in creating and facilitating assistive technology support for individuals and universal design across district-wide educational programs in a large metropolitan school district.

Her scholarship interests are in digital literacy, access to and use of assistive technology for individuals across the lifespan, and inclusion of children with mental health and sensory processing challenges.

Dr. Thorne has volunteered for the Kansas Occupational Therapy Association as a speaker and board member and is an active member of the American Occupational Therapy Association.

Outside of her profession, Deanna’s leisure occupations include spending time with her family, lake time, reading, and gardening.