Edward Barton Made A Positive Impact On Occupational Therapy

Chapter Two Guiding Questions

Although each individual mentioned in this passage made a positive impact on Occupational Therapy, one therapist in particular stood out to me. If I were alive in the early 1900’s, George Edward Barton would have convinced me to pursue a career in occupational therapy. I believe that Barton had a stronger impact on the field because he was once a patient himself. Therefore, he was a direct example of how the therapy can help people and reassure those in his shoes that there is a way for them to achieve independence again through the “work cure”. I always find it inspiring when people fight through their struggles, become

I believe that the most significant contribution Eleanor Clarke Slagle made to the profession of occupational therapy was her tremendous leadership and networking skills for the AOTA. I admire how she creatively promoted occupational therapy through women’s clubs and established a national office in New York. It amazes me that her commitment to networking and promotion caused the AOTA to flourish with eighteen new state and local associations, totaling a thousand members. It is amazing that her hard work paid off for the future accreditation of occupational therapy programs in 1935. Without her fifteen years of strong leadership and determination to help the AOTA grow, I do not believe the AOTA would be quite as successful as it is

Ultimately, I believe the war affected and educated the most people about occupational therapy. Sadly, millions of men were wounded which then increased the demand for occupational therapy services. Therefore, more people discovered the benefits of OT. Whether it be because they were a soldier and needed therapy, they had a family member who needed therapy, or because they simply happened upon it. The increase of demand also caused the workforce to increase, causing the field to grow stronger in numbers. WWII also significantly affected OT by shifting from using crafts therapeutically to the use of rehabilitation. Though the crafts work, rehabilitation may have caused more people to realize that OT is a real form of therapy and can help people achieve independence, no matter their injury, illness, or disorder. This is because people may have not taken therapy as seriously when crafts were involved and took solace in occupational therapy once it appeared to fit more of the “medical guidelines” they thought therapy should have. I also found it interesting that occupational therapy aided the use of prosthetics at this time as part of rehabilitation. Although occupational therapy assistants and the Bobaths greatly helped the development of OT, WWII had the most outreach, and significantly pushed the field forward to where it is