Occupational therapists (OTs) are health care professionals specializing in occupational therapy and occupational science. OTs and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) use scientific bases and a holistic perspective to promote a person's ability to fulfill their daily routines and roles. OTs have training in the physical, psychological, and social aspects of human functioning deriving from an education grounded in anatomical and physiological concepts, and psychological perspectives. They enable individuals across the lifespan by optimizing their abilities to perform activities that are meaningful to them ("occupations"). Human occupations include activities of daily living, work/vocation, play, education, leisure, rest and sleep, and social participation.
Occupational therapy (OT) is a healthcare profession that involves the use of assessment and intervention to develop, recover, or maintain the meaningful activities, or occupations, of individuals, groups, or communities. The field of OT consists of health care practitioners trained and educated to improve mental and physical performance. Occupational therapists specialize in teaching, educating, and supporting participation in any activity that occupies an individual's time. It is an independent health profession sometimes categorized as an allied health profession and consists of occupational therapists (OTs) and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs). While OTs and OTAs have different roles, they both work with people who want to improve their mental and or physical health, disabilities, injuries, or impairments.
Occupational science is a discipline dedicated to the study of humans as "doers" or "occupational beings". As used here, the term "occupation" refers to the intentional or goal-directed activities that characterize daily human life as well as the characteristics and patterns of purposeful activity that occur over lifetimes.
Sensory integration therapy (SIT) was originally developed by occupational therapist A. Jean Ayres in the 1970s to help children with sensory-processing difficulties. It was specifically designed to treat Sensory Processing Disorder. Sensory Integration Therapy is based on A. Jean Ayres's Sensory Integration Theory, which proposes that sensory-processing is linked to emotional regulation, learning, behavior, and participation in daily life. Sensory integration is the process of organizing sensations from the body and from environmental stimuli.
Anna Jean Ayres was an American occupational therapist, educational psychologist and advocate for individuals with special needs. She became known for her work on sensory integration (SI) theory.
This article discusses occupational therapy (OT) in the United Kingdom.
Eleanor Clarke Slagle was an American social worker and an early pioneer of occupational therapy.
Vision rehabilitation is a term for a medical rehabilitation to improve vision or low vision. In other words, it is the process of restoring functional ability and improving quality of life and independence in an individual who has lost visual function through illness or injury. Most visual rehabilitation services are focused on low vision, which is a visual impairment that cannot be fully corrected by regular eyeglasses, contact lenses, medication, or surgery. Low vision interferes with the ability to perform everyday activities. Visual impairment is caused by factors including brain damage, vision loss, and others. Of the vision rehabilitation techniques available, most center on neurological and physical approaches.
Cultural humility is the “ability to maintain an interpersonal stance that is other-oriented in relation to aspects of cultural identity that are most important to the [person].” Cultural humility is different from other culturally-based training ideals because it focuses on self-humility rather than being an other-directed "they/them" way of achieving a state of knowledge or awareness. It is helpful to see as others see; what they themselves have determined is their personal expression of their heritage and their “personal culture”. Cultural humility was formed in the physical healthcare field and adapted for therapists, social workers, and medical librarians, to learn more about experiences and cultural identities of others and increase the quality of their interactions with clients and community members.
Substance use disorders (SUD) can have a significant effect on one's function in all areas of occupation. Physical and psychosocial issues due to SUD can impact occupational performance. Unfulfilled life roles and disruption in meaningful activity can result from lack of structure or routine, poor motivation, limited skills, and poor social networks. These deficits may also contribute to stress, affecting the ability to cope with challenges. While SUD can affect a client's participation in therapy and ability to follow recommendations, occupational therapists are trained to facilitate occupational participation and performance.
Thomas B. Kidner (1866–1932) was one of the founders of the National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy (NSPOT) later renamed the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). He served as president of the society from 1923 to 1928.
Susan Edith Tracy was an American registered nurse who developed invalid occupations as a branch of nursing.:118 Tracy was a founder member of the National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy. She was an educator and author, instigating the first training course about occupation and writing the first textbook about the therapeutic benefits of occupation.
Lydia Bush-Brown Head (1887–1984) was an American visual artist, known to work as a painter and designer. She is best known for her silk batik wall hangings.
Sensory processing disorder is a condition in which multisensory input is not adequately processed in order to provide appropriate responses to the demands of the environment. Sensory processing disorder is present in many people with dyspraxia, autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Individuals with SPD may inadequately process visual, auditory, olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), tactile (touch), vestibular (balance), proprioception, and interoception sensory stimuli.
Eleanor Abrams, was an American painter. She was an original member of the Philadelphia Ten.
Elnora M. Gilfoyle is a retired American occupational therapist, researcher, educator, and university administrator. She worked at several hospitals before accepting a professorship at Colorado State University, later serving as Dean of the College of Applied Human Sciences and Provost/Academic Vice President at that university. She is also a past president of the American Occupational Therapy Association. With research interests in child development, developmental disabilities, and child abuse, she has led studies on the state and federal levels. The co-author of two books and many articles, she was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1996.
Gary Wayne Kielhofner was an American social scientist and influential occupational therapy theorist who rose to prominence as a scholar during his time as Professor and Wade-Meyer Chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is best known for his conceptual practice model, which is known globally as The Model of Human Occupation (MOHO). The model was first published as a series of articles in The American Journal of Occupational Therapy by Kielhofner and others but later extensively developed over Kielhofner's career and disseminated in numerous books and articles. Kielhofner lectured widely and consulted regularly in the United States and abroad, particularly throughout Scandinavia, the United Kingdom,, Ireland, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Japan, Hong Kong, Israel, and Central and South America. An active network of proponents across the international occupational therapy community continues to study and evolve his model through the MOHO Clearinghouse maintained at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).
Muriel Ellen Zimmerman was an American occupational therapist, head of the Self-Help Device Unit at the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine in New York City.
The Kawa model is a culturally responsive conceptual framework used in occupational therapy to understand and guide the therapeutic process. Developed by Japanese occupational therapists, the model draws upon the metaphor of a river to describe human occupation and its relationship to well-being. The overarching goal of use is to "provide a culturally flexible model to aid occupational therapists to improve communication with clients, to better understand what a client finds meaningful and important, and to design optimal client-centered interventions."
Alice Catherine Jantzen was an American occupational therapist. She was the first president of the American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF), and chair of the occupational therapy department at the University of Florida from 1958 to 1976.
