Megan Silvia, OTD, OTR
Assistant Professor
she/her
School
School of Occupational Therapy
Department
School of Occupational Therapy
About
Dr. Silvia’s (she/her) primary area of clinical expertise is pediatrics, with a specialization in pediatric pain management and interdisciplinary collaboration. She has experience providing occupational therapy services to children and adolescents across a variety of settings, including schools, outpatient clinics, and hospitals. She has also worked in adult rehabilitation and has experience in entrepreneurial and program development. Dr. Silvia has a clinical research focus on assessment and intervention for youth with chronic headache disorders, with a particular emphasis on biopsychosocial factors. Dr. Silvia has presented her research professionally at local, national, and international conferences.
Dr. Silvia has taught occupational therapy courses including Evidence-Based Practice, OT Process, Clinical Reasoning, Motor Performance, OT Management, and Program Planning: Capstone. At MCPHS, she serves as the Worcester campus OT Interprofessional Education (IPE) representative, participating in the IPE Working Group. She also serves as the program’s liaison to MCPHS Admissions and the Social Media Coordinator for the School of Occupational Therapy.
Education
- OTD, Boston University
- MSOT, University of New Hampshire
- BSOT, University of New Hampshire
Research Interests
- Pediatric Pain Assessment and Management
- Virtual Reality in Rehabilitation
Programs
Featured Affiliations
American Occupational Therapy Association
LinkMassachusetts Association of Occupational Therapy
LinkEducation
- OTD, Boston University
- MSOT, University of New Hampshire
- BSOT, University of New Hampshire
Research Interests
- Pediatric Pain Assessment and Management
- Virtual Reality in Rehabilitation
Programs
Publications
- Smith, A., Silvia, M., Schefter, Z., & Rogan, H. (2023).Avoiding lights and sounds: Validation of the PhotoSensitivity and PhonoSensitivity Avoidance Behavior Scales (PHOTO-SABS & PHONO-SABS) in pediatric headache. Children’s Health Care, 52. doi: 10.1080/02739615.2023.2189117
- Nelson S., Smith, A.M., Jervis, K, Silvia, M., & Randall E.T. (2022). Will this treatment help my child? How parent/caregiver treatment expectations related to intensive pain rehabilitation outcomes for youth with chronic pain. Clinical Journal of Pain, 38(11), 651-658. doi: 10.1097/AJP.000000000000106
- Logan, D. E., Simons, L. E., Caruso, T., Gold, J. I., Greenleaf, W., Griffin, A., King, C. D., Menendez, M., Olbrecht, V. A., Rodriguez, S., Silvia, M., … & Wilson, L. (2021). Leveraging VR/AR to combat chronic pain in youth: Position paper from the interdisciplinary network on virtual and augmented (AR/VR) technologies for pain (INOVATE-Pain) Management. Journal of Medical Internet Research 23(4):e25916. doi:10.2196/25916
- Silvia, M., & Smith, A. (2021). Development & Feasibility of the Headache-Related Light & Sound Sensitivity Inventories in Youth. Children: Special Issue on Headache in Children and Adolescents, 8(10), 861. doi: 10.3390/children8100861
Presentations
- Silvia, M., & Smith, A. (2021). Leaving the headphones and sunglasses behind: Restoring function through auditory and visual desensitization in pediatric headache [Virtual oral presentation]. American Occupational Therapy Association Annual Conference: INSPIRE 2021.
- Silvia, M., Smith, A., & Bryant, G. (2020). Chronic school avoidance among the pediatric pain population: Considerations and interventions for a successful school reintegration [Virtual oral presentation]. American Occupational Therapy Association Annual Conference.
- Silvia, M., Bryant., G, & Smith, A. (2020). Turn it up: Auditory and visual desensitization for pediatric headache [Virtual poster presentation]. American Occupational Therapy Association Annual Conference.
- Bryant, G., & Silvia, M. (2020). Functioning in the presence of pain: Occupational therapy evaluation and treatment in pediatric chronic pain [Virtual poster presentation]. American Occupational Therapy Association Annual Conference.
- Silvia, M., Smith, A., & Bryant, G. (2018). Functional outcomes in youth with chronic headache undergoing graded exposure for hypersensitivities within an interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation program. [Poster presentation]. International Association for the Study of Pain World Congress on Pain, Boston, MA, United States.
- Shulman, J., Smith, A., Kenney, A., & Silvia, M. (2017). Interdisciplinary perspectives in pediatric pain management: A paradigm shift. [Oral presentation]. American Physical Therapy Association of Massachusetts Annual Conference, Norwood, MA, United States.