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Sabrina A. Kenny, PhD, OTR/L, is an occupational therapist, educator, and researcher whose work bridges occupational therapy, education, and the developmental sciences. Her scholarship focuses on children’s self-determination, participation, and self-regulation, with particular interest in how assessment, intervention, and therapeutic environments can support children’s agency and meaningful engagement in school and community contexts.
Dr. Kenny’s research includes work examining occupational therapy interventions that promote children’s self-determination, pediatric assessment practices, and the development and validation of measures of self-regulation and executive function in early childhood. Her scholarship draws on quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, and evidence-synthesis approaches. She has published in occupational therapy, education, and developmental science journals and has presented her work at state and national conferences.
Dr. Kenny has held faculty and research positions in occupational therapy, early childhood education, and human development. Prior to transitioning to higher education and research, Dr. Kenny spent more than 15 years as a school-based occupational therapist with the New York City Department of Education. In addition to providing occupational therapy services to children, she served as a Senior Instructional Therapist, developing professional education and mentoring occupational therapists across the school system. Her clinical and scholarly work is grounded in a longstanding interest in creating environments that support children’s participation, agency, and well-being.
Ph.D., Education — Early Childhood Learning and Development, University at Buffalo
M.S., Occupational Therapy, Summa Cum Laude, Sacred Heart University
B.S., Health Promotion Science, Summa Cum Laude, St. Francis College
McClelland, M. M., Kenny, S., Didrichsen, S., Herrera, P. N., Halliday, S., Ahmadi, A., & Cameron, C. E. HTKS measure of executive function and self-regulation: Two decades of progress in early childhood measurement. Frontiers in Psychology, 17, 1801156.
Friedman, Z. L., Kenny, S., Simon, G., Lee, J., Giordano, K., Nealon, K., & Latawiec, J. (2026). A descriptive study identifying occupational priorities and perceptions of motherhood. Journal of Occupational Science, 1–16.
Kenny, S. A., Maas, C., & Coopersmith, A. (2025). Occupational therapy interventions to promote action-oriented self-determination skills in children: A scoping review. Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, 1–21.
Korucu, I., Duncan, R. J., Kenny, S. A., Gonzales, C. R., Ahmadi, A., Karing, J. T., & McClelland, M. M. (2025). The Head–Toes–Knees–Shoulders task as a screening tool for kindergarten-level achievement. Behavioral Sciences, 15(11), 1464.
Cameron, C. E., Priore, M., Kenny, S. A., et al. (2025). Head-Toes for neurodiverse learners: Adapting an existing behavioral self-regulation assessment. Child & Youth Care Forum.
Kenny, S. A., Cameron, C. E., Karing, J. T., Ahmadi, A., Braithwaite, P. N., & McClelland, M. M. (2023). A meta-analysis of the validity of the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task in predicting young children’s academic performance. Frontiers in Psychology.
Cameron, C. E., Kenny, S., & Chen, Q. H. (2023). How Head Start professionals use and perceive Teaching Strategies GOLD: Associations with individual characteristics including assessment conceptions. Teaching and Teacher Education.
Kenny, S., & Cameron, C. E. (2022). Examining conceptions of assessment among a social media-based sample of early childhood professionals. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education.
Ohl, A. M., Graze, H., Weber, K., Kenny, S., Salvatore, C., & Wagreich, S. (2013). Effectiveness of a 10-week Tier-1 Response to Intervention program in improving fine motor and visual–motor skills in general education kindergarten students. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 67, 507–514.
Selected Conference Presentations
2026
Teaching Self-Determination in Pediatric Occupational Therapy. New York State Occupational Therapy Association, Dessert & Dialogue Continuing Education Series.
2025
Occupational Therapy Interventions to Promote Action-Oriented Self-Determination Skills in Children: Findings and Application from a Scoping Review. New York State Occupational Therapy Association Conference, Glens Falls, NY.
Pathways to Empowerment: A Scoping Review of Children’s Self-Determination in Occupational Therapy Practice. American Occupational Therapy Association Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
The Preliminary Validation of the Head-Toes for Exceptional Learners (HT-XL): A Modified Version of the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders Task for Children with Physical and Neurocognitive Differences. Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Minneapolis, MN.
2024
Pathways to Empowerment: A Scoping Review of Children’s Self-Determination in Occupational Therapy Practice. New York State Occupational Therapy Association Conference, Albany, NY.
Raising Families Project: An Interprofessional, Community-Serving Program as a Clinical, Educational, and Research Training Initiative. Kean University Faculty Research Conference, Union, NJ.
The Role of Self-Regulation in Early Learning: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Predictive Validity of the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders Task. Kean University Faculty Research Conference, Union, NJ.
2021
Examining Conceptions of Assessment Among a Social Media-Based Sample of Early Childhood Professionals. University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education Research Symposium.
Cameron, C. E., Kenny, S., & Chen, Q. A Mixed Methods Study of Head Start Professionals’ Experiences with Teaching Strategies GOLD®. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting.