Occupational therapy education: How to navigate in a Perfect Storm
Please click on and read all of the links - they include critical information that is required for this analysis.  A little over four years ago I stated thatthere are too many occupational therapy educational programs in New York State.  At the NYSOTA conference legislative information session in 2023 I stood up and suggested that we should all stop taking jobs at these institutions that were seeking to develop new programs.  I thought that if we did not take those jobs that the problem would be solved. That was neither realistic or correct, even if the intention was good.Well karma tends to strike...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - February 8, 2024 Category: Occupational Health Tags: OT Education Source Type: blogs

Globalization and occupation therapy - a continued musing.
I have been talking about the implications of globalization on the occupational therapy profession for quite some time - it started off withblog posts here and then apresentation at OT24VX in 2015.  Then I gave the topic a whole chapter inmy theory textbook in 2019.  Then there were more blog postshereandhere.In sum, I am uncertain if occupational therapy is a unitary global profession, although I now add this caveat:at least as understood in the publications of academics. I add this caveat now because I am uncertain if the things that people in academia write about truly reflects actual practice in oth...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - August 10, 2023 Category: Occupational Health Source Type: blogs

Environmental sustainability and occupational therapy practice, revisited.
 Please go here formy first thoughts on sustainability in occupational therapy around ten years ago.I received an email from a colleague who has been an advocate and published author on this topic asking me if I had the opportunity to revisit my thoughts on sustainability and occupational therapy.In fact I have continued to think about this, so I thought I would document my response here.Hi XXXXX- Thanks for reaching out. I have previously and still believe that the study of climate change itself should remain within the purview of climate scientists. It seems to me that when it is co-opted by distal groups (incl...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - July 28, 2023 Category: Occupational Health Source Type: blogs

On American Pickers and some homeless treasures of the occupational therapy profession
Many people accumulate stuff, and people ascribe varying levels of value to their stuff.  Some people can ' t part with stuff because of sentimental feelings.  Some people can ' t part with stuff because it represents adeeper psychological affliction.  We havecultural movements now that address the problematic relationships that people have with their stuff.I initiated an Ebay hobby recently.  There is nothing like the death of parents and the associated task housecleaning that prompts assessment of the value of earthly goods. I have had quite a bit of fun selling things that I no longer wanted.I am a f...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - August 9, 2022 Category: Occupational Health Tags: history OT Education OT practice Source Type: blogs

The stories we tell ourselves about the past
The concept of narrative captured my interest sometime around 1984 - ironically - because it may have been the Orwell novel with that year ' s title that prompted my thinking on the topic.I was interested in written narrative and how Winston Smith established his rebellion and then his freedom through a written form (even if it all eventually led to a horrible end). I was also fascinated by his attraction to the paperweight that he purchased - something that was old - and seemingly of unknowable utility.What was the purpose of knowledge, or of the past - except that it all did represent a freedom from the drudgery of the p...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - June 16, 2022 Category: Occupational Health Tags: ABC Therapeutics OT practice OT stories parenting Source Type: blogs

The New Fascism in Occupational Therapy
I am sometimes hesitant to extend my commentary to the academic editorializing that happens in the occupational therapy literature of other countries, but I am unable to remain silent.  Too often the ideas expressed elsewhere slither their way into the thinking of academics in the United States.And, of course, any objection to these ideas immediately causes one to be branded xenophobic, and usually worse, so I will simply gird myself for that criticism; I know it is coming. Over time I have raised the issue of international ' goodness of fit ' of philosophical constructs - initially in OT24VX presentations. ...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - April 26, 2022 Category: Occupational Health Tags: OT Education OT practice philosophy Source Type: blogs

The problems with polarity frames in occupational therapy theory
There is nothing quite like starting off a Monday morning with a good theory article.  I opened up my Twitter feed to find a link to Taff& Putnam ' s contribution entitled " Northern philosophies and professional neocolonialism in occupational therapy: A historical review and critique. "The authors " suggest with confidence that the current American philosophical landscape in 2021 is a mix of mostly analytic philosophy accompanied by a smaller measure of neopragmatism predisposed to a Continental mindset. " (Taff& Putnam, 2022).  I am uncertain if this is a view shared by all, and to any degree that it is...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - February 28, 2022 Category: Occupational Health Source Type: blogs

When occupational therapy and public health collide
 Presented at NYSOTA ' s Annual Conference. 11/13/21Thanks for stopping by to look at my slides!Click here for slides! (Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog)
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - November 13, 2021 Category: Occupational Health Tags: OT Education OT practice Source Type: blogs

Will the occupational therapy Academic Leadership Council stand up to the accreditation function of its own organization?
 TheAmerican Council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT) recently published a paper entitled " Future of physical therapist education programs in higher education. "  This paper should be mandatory reading for anyone interested in the proliferation of some allied health programs, credential escalation, and the intersection of these issues with practice.For starters, it is important to disambiguate ACAPT fromCAPTE (Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education).  CAPTE grants accreditation to entry level programs for the physical therapy profession, and although ' independent ' is also a part of ...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - June 24, 2021 Category: Occupational Health Tags: OT Education OT practice policy Source Type: blogs

In search of an evidence-based approach to occupational therapy practice education that would include simulation experiences
 Simulation is a methodology used to replicate real-world tasks.  Simulation provides experiences that lead to direct learning or that can be used as an assessment of competence.  Such tasks have been used as a primary tactic in occupational therapy and other rehabilitation services since their inception - although they were generally applied in a therapeutic context.  For example, an individual would learn how to dress themselves out of context to develop skill, and then that skill would be transferred to contextual learning.  Sometimes, more esoterically, a simulated activity broken down into com...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - June 3, 2021 Category: Occupational Health Tags: OT Education OT practice policy Source Type: blogs

Best practices for successful OT/OTA partnerships in NYS
 Presented at NYSOTA ' s Dessert& Dialogue Continuing Education Series, January 5, 2021. Thanks for stopping by to look at our slides!Click here for slides! (Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog)
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - January 10, 2021 Category: Occupational Health Tags: OT practice Source Type: blogs

2020 Year in Review: nOT so bad!
 2020 – An eventful year – pedagogy in a pandemic!Celebrating 33 years of certification as an occupational therapist!A trip to Florida to present on ‘qualitative data sources for narrative analysis’https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqrc/eleventh/day1/42/(last time I have traveled out of New York State)Final photo of me as I left the college in the Spring 2020, optimistic for a quick return!Sample 2020 Blog posts:Alterio, C.J. (2020, January 27). On so-called ‘Civility Pledges’ and the abolition of free thought and free speech. ABC Therapeutics Blog, http://abctherapeutics.blogspot.com/2020/02/on-so-calle...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - January 4, 2021 Category: Occupational Health Tags: OT Education Too much information Source Type: blogs

A critique of the concept of'occupational rights' on Constitution Day 2020
Today is Constitution Day - a good time to reflect on the nature of rights, particularly as this is an apparent topic of interest among some occupational scientists.Many people improperly believe that in an American context rights spring out of the Constitution.  Actually, the so-called Bill of Rights is a list of governmental limitations - or actions that the government can not take against individuals related to their rights.  One of my favorites is the ninth amendment - so limiting in its scope - it states that enumerating any rights in the Constitution shall not be construed to deny or disparage other rights ...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - September 17, 2020 Category: Occupational Health Tags: OT Education OT practice philosophy Source Type: blogs

Perspectives on motive
The objective was to eventually re-plant the seedling into a more suitable location so the squirrels could have a preferable home, since the ash trees were having difficulties on account of those naughty bugs.All motives assigned, and with good intention.  I have trained for over 33 years for moments like this.The spring and summer moved on - and we continued to use our yard as a combined entertainment, learning, and leisure venue in this pandemic context, and we dutifully watered and nurtured our seedling and watched it sprout a couple of new leaves.  Everything was going perfectly, or so we thought.I am uncerta...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - September 3, 2020 Category: Occupational Health Tags: OT practice parenting philosophy Source Type: blogs

Immediate action is required to address the crisis in occupational therapy fieldwork education caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Accreditationis a function that ensures quality in higher education.  Many accreditation functions in higher education are regional, and schools must engage those accreditation processes in order for students attending to be eligible for many forms of financial aid.Many professional educational programs are also accreditedby discipline specific organizations, which are in turn themselvesmonitored by national accreditors.  In sum, there are multiple layers to the educational accreditation process that all serve as a quasi-public protection to ensure quality. The occupational therapy profession has a disciplin...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - April 12, 2020 Category: Occupational Health Tags: OT Education OT practice policy Source Type: blogs