Nelson's Model Of Occupation

Nelson was determined to define occupation clearly so that progression could be made in the field of occupational therapy (Nelson, 1988: 633). In the following essay I will outline the model that Nelson designed to clearly illustrate occupation. I will then describe an occupation that I take part in and apply Nelson’s ideas to my occupation to prove that it is an occupation.

Nelson describes occupation as “the relationship between two things: occupational form and occupational performance” (Nelson, 1988: 633). Occupational form is the external environment or situation in which the occupation is performed in. Occupational form includes the surroundings, resources used, people involved or around while the occupation is performed, the link

The degree of this meaningfulness is from the view of the person carrying out the occupation. The perception of this meaningfulness depends on the person’s developmental structure. Developmental structure includes feelings, senses, movements, thoughts, how the person perceives things and how they interact with other people. As occupations are performed these developmental structures can change. Occupations also have purpose which means while someone is performing an occupation they are trying to achieve goals. Purposefulness is also from the view of the person performing the occupation and will be different for every individual. The goals that are set by the person are affected by the meaning that the person ascribes to the occupation and the developmental structure of the person. These things together effect the context that the occupational performance takes place in. Based on this model for occupational therapy we can assess how we carry out our occupations in the context we are in and the meaning that we place on this context (Nelson, 1988:

Occupational performance is affected by occupational dynamics. Occupational dynamics are the changes that happen to the occupational form during the occupation and the changes that happen to my development structure during the occupation (Nelson, 1988: 637). The impact of my occupation is that ingredients have changed into a cake. My equipment is not very affected but will need to be cleaned. I have worked on my buttercream piping skills and will be able to pipe more easily the next time I bake a cake. The next time I pipe I will make fewer mistakes and will not have to go through the same trial and error as I previously had to. During the process of making the cake and decorating it I have learnt the best way to perform this task and the next time I make it I will be able to do it faster because I won’t need to constantly read the recipe. I also know the best way to make the recipe and have slightly adapted the recipe to get the correct consistency. In the future, I will remember the adaptations I made and will be able to perform them immediately (Nelson, 1988: 637). There are many different levels of occupation that combine during making a cake. For example, mixing the ingredients and then decorating the cake are two separate occupations. However, all the different levels of occupation are all aimed at one final product: a cake. Therefore, all the levels of occupation unite to form one occupation (Nelson, 1988: