A Short History of Occupational Therapy, From 1917 to Today

Occupational therapy is now a familiar part of children's health care, but the profession is only about a century old. Its story helps explain what OTs focus on today: helping people take part in the everyday activities, or "occupations", that matter to them.

Where it started

In March 1917, a small group met at Consolation House in Clifton Springs, New York, and founded the National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy. The group came from very different backgrounds. It included an architect (George Edward Barton), a psychiatrist (William Rush Dunton), a social worker (Eleanor Clarke Slagle), a nurse (Susan E. Tracy), a physician (Herbert James Hall), an arts and crafts teacher (Susan Cox Johnson), and Thomas B. Kidner, a vocational educator who had been working with Canada's Military Hospitals Commission. That society later became the American Occupational Therapy Association.

Their shared idea was simple: meaningful activity supports health and recovery.

The First World War and Canada

Canada's profession grew out of the First World War. Thousands of soldiers came home with injuries and needed help getting back to work and daily life. The University of Toronto trained "ward aides" in 1918 to support the retraining of returning veterans, and in 1926 it set up a two-year occupational therapy program. The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists was founded the same year.

From hospitals to homes and schools

For much of the 20th century, most OTs worked in hospitals and rehabilitation centres. Over time, the profession widened its focus:

• Mental health. OT became part of psychiatric care, helping people build routines and return to work and community life.

• Children. Paediatric OT grew as research showed how motor skills, sensory processing and attention affect a child's learning and play.

• Community care. More OTs began working where people live, learn and work: homes, schools, daycares and workplaces.

Today, paediatric OTs look at the whole child. That includes printing and fine motor skills, self-care like dressing and eating, sensory processing, coordination, attention and organization, and how all of these show up at home and at school.

A regulated profession

In Ontario, occupational therapy is a regulated health profession under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 and the Occupational Therapy Act, 1991. The College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario sets standards, registers OTs and investigates complaints. Only people registered with the College can call themselves an occupational therapist or use "OT". You can check any OT on the College's public register. Learn more about our registered occupational therapists.

Occupational Therapy Month

October is Occupational Therapy Month in Canada. It's a good time to learn what OTs do, from helping a child hold a pencil comfortably to helping an adult return to work after an injury.

OT in Ottawa today

Many Ottawa families now choose mobile OT, where the therapist comes to the child. Read more about paediatric occupational therapy in Ottawa, see where we visit, or learn about in-home OT.

Sources: American Occupational Therapy Association history; University of Toronto: Rehabilitating veterans; College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario.

Talk to an Ottawa occupational therapist

Every program starts with a free 15-minute call about your child. Call 613-797-9644 or email support@ottawaot.com. Our registered occupational therapists come to your home or your child's school anywhere in Ottawa, or meet you online.

This article is general information for parents. It isn't a diagnosis or a substitute for an assessment by a registered occupational therapist.