Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

Dr. Ryan Lavalley is an assistant professor in the Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy and primary lead of the Community Practice Lab. He has worked as a community occupational therapist since 2014, providing and developing programming most often related to aging, dementia, and housing. Ryan has and continues to work in partnership with multiple collaborators across North Carolina to further community-rooted initiatives. Ryan is the current coordinator of the Carolina Aging Network, which connects academic aging-related resources and initiatives across Carolina Institutions. Additionally, Ryan teaches the Community-Level Occupational Therapy course in the Masters of Occupational Therapy Program at UNC-CH through which he has guided student partnerships with multiple local organizations to develop programming and strategic actions steps to support community health and participation. Ryan co-hosts an occupational therapy and occupational science podcast with Dr. Khalilah Johnson.

I am the Administrative Assistant for several programs in the office of Student Services in Health Sciences. I work with undergraduate and graduate students in Radiologic Science, Occupational Therapy & Occupational Science, and Speech & Hearing Sciences to guide them through the admissions, registration, and graduation processes during their time at UNC.

Planned Graduation

August 2026

The majority of my work is to serve as a resource for anyone with questions or concerns about their practice, school-based physical therapy, ethical concerns, appropriate funding, and evidence-based practices. I work for and with many stakeholders: school-based and other physical therapist practitioners, NC board of physical therapy examiners, Exceptional Children program directors, parents and family members of students, case workers, school nurses, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, special education teachers, adapted physical education specialists, general physical education teachers, policy makers, finance and compliance staff and other DPI staff, among others. The focus of all these collaborations are to ensure students with disabilities are well served in NC public schools.
I hope my work supports public schools in all parts of NC and beyond, to provide every student with a disability receives excellent services and education. We must facilitate their learning and participation so each student leaves school prepared to work, continue their education and/or participate in their communities.

Dr. Micheal Sandbank is an internationally renowned expert on early interventions for children on the autism spectrum. She is the lead researcher on Project AIM, a comprehensive and ongoing meta-analysis of all nonpharmacological interventions designed for young autistic children, which was selected as one of the Top Advances in Autism Research in 2020 by the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Her work has been published in prestigious journals such as The BMJ, JAMA Pediatrics, and Psychological Bulletin and has informed clinical guidelines on the care and support of autistic children and their families.