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From left to right: Carmit Frisch, David Ward, Tom Chau (VP, Research)
News
A note from Pursuit Awards winner: Carmit Frisch

My name is Carmit Frisch; I am a pediatric Occupational Therapist, and a PhD student from the Occupational Therapy Department, University of Haifa, Israel. Supervised by Prof. Sara Rosenblum & Prof. Emanuel Tirosh.

On June 7th, I had the great honor to present my PhD study at the Pursuit Award Ceremony. In my study, I initiated and developed a novel intervention model for preschoolers with symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and studied its efficacy. The program derived from the model is called the Parental Occupational Executive Training (POET). The POET promotes early intervention among this population, and it uniquely addresses children's executive deficits and their implications on daily functioning, as well as possible parental weakness in executive functions (EF). The POET has contributed to both theoretical and clinical practice in Israel, by exposing physicians to the importance of EF and strengthening the unique contribution of occupational therapy to the field of ADHD.

I was very excited to be nominated as one of the three finalists of the Pursuit Award. The atmosphere in the ceremony was welcoming and warm. I could feel the participants' strong desire to promote applicable clinical research and to improve services for children with varied chronic disabilities. All the finalists and the keynote presenter gave interesting and inspiring presentations of their fascinating work.

I was overjoyed by the announcement of winning the first place. This is significant recognition of the importance of our study's contribution to the field of childhood disability research, and an exciting and rewarding tribute for me, after a long and complicated journey.

Preparing for the Pursuit Awards was a fascinating and empowering process and I would like to thank the Bloorview Research Institute at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital for this great opportunity and recognition. This entire experience and the prize is a great incentive for further development of the POET and I am looking forward to future worldwide collaborations.