OT Expo at the Harkin Center Showcases Student-Designed Assistive Devices for Local Clients
Wednesday, February 18th, 2026
For most of us, eating out with friends or playing games on our tablets are everyday activities we take for granted. Occupational therapists, on the other hand, know how meaningful it is for people of all abilities to participate in these tasks independently and confidently. Each year, Drake University Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) students design products to help real clients do just that.
In their Universal Design and Technology in OT course, second-year OTD students learn about the design of places and spaces for accessibility, and about the technology available for helping clients fully participate in various activities. They also get the opportunity to apply what they learn to make a difference in the life of a community member through a nearly eight-year partnership with Mosaic of Centra Iowa,
Throughout the semester, students assess the abilities and needs of Mosaic clients, creating intervention plans that include the use of a brand new, customized assistive technology device designed to support an occupation(s) they value. The products are brought to life in collaboration with Industrial Design students from Iowa State University.
Together, students blend science, art, and design to create tools that are practical, relevant, structurally sound, and aesthetically pleasing. Their goal? For each client to walk away with something in their hands that they’ll use in their daily life long-term.
After a semester of hard work, the course culminates in a final exposition where students showcase their designs and tools to the public. The most recent OT Expo took place on the Drake campus at the Harkin Center in December 2025. Four groups of OTD students created four different products for two Mosaic clients, Lori and Deb. Read more about the products created this year and how they serve Lori and Deb below.
Product #1: Catheter Cover Bag
As an avid disability advocate, Special Olympics athlete, and social butterfly, Mosaic client Lori expressed to the OTD students her desire to conceal her indwelling catheter drainage bag on her wheelchair when she is out in the community. The Drake and ISU students created custom fabric bags in Lori’s favorite colors, red and purple, to make that possible. The final product features a hygienic, washable liner as well as a flap on the front of the bag to allow caregivers to discreetly monitor volume and empty the bag in public. Now, Lori can maintain her dignity and go out into public confidently with minimal stigma or distraction.
Product #2: Wheelchair Tray
As a social person, Lori can often be found eating out at restaurants with her caregivers and friends. However, she is occasionally not able to pull up to tables with her wheelchair due to height differences. Additionally, when Lori attends advocacy events, she must store materials in a backpack on the back of her wheelchair, which requires someone else to retrieve items for her. She asked the students if they could create a lightweight, detachable tray for her wheelchair that would allow her to access various items on her lap. Students created a foldable, portable lap tray that could attach to structures already existing on her chair and function as a table for Lori.
Product #3: Rotating iPad Holder/Mount
This product was created for Mosaic client Deb, who is fiercely independent and active as a Hy-Vee employee helping customers navigate the store for items. In her spare time, Deb enjoys reading and playing games on her iPad. However, sometimes Deb plays games or uses apps that require the orientation of the iPad to be changed, which she is unable to do on her own. Instead of continuing to crane her neck to play these games independently, Deb voiced her desire for a tool that would allow her to rotate the tablet on her own. The Drake and ISU students designed a portable iPad stand using a 3D printer with an attached mount, and they programmed an electronic device to a jellybean switch for Deb to press whenever she needs to rotate the iPad.
Product #4: Tilt and Slide Easel
Another hobby that Deb enjoys is doing various types of art, both in her own home and at a studio in the community. However, her home set-up is minimal, and the art studio is not fully equipped for accessibility, which is not ideal for someone like her who values doing things on her own. Deb expressed to students that she would enjoy a custom art table/stand with flexible tabletop positioning for optimal physical access. The students got to work creating a final product that allowed the angle of the art surface to be adjusted and positioned closer or farther away from the edge of a table. They used C-clamps to secure the stand to the table so it could sustain pressure without moving. With the product’s ability to collapse and fold as well as its carrying handles (in Deb’s favorite color, lavender), she can easily transport her creative space between home and the art studio.
Lori and Deb each left the expo that day with two products crafted specially for them, with detailed instructions for them and their caregivers to be able to utilize the products long-term. Students left the expo with a unique portfolio piece and, most importantly, the knowledge that they had changed a small part of each client’s life for the better.
“Overall, it’s a “win” in the educational journey of the OT students at Drake University as well as for the Mosaic clients who are, hopefully, now more equipped to engage in valued daily tasks because of these students and the devices they created,” said Dr. Ashley Murray, Drake Occupational Therapy Professor and course instructor.
