OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & REHAB history

Elizabeth Casson formed her first clinic in 1917 and, subsequently, set up the very first occupational therapy school in Bristol.

The Ontario Society of Occupational Therapy was inaugurated in October 1920.

The Objects of the first Society were outlined at the first Drawing Room Meeting on October 4, 1921 at which there were 300 delegates.

A second Drawing Room Meeting of the Ontario Society of Occupational Therapy was held in 1925.

An urgent need for more therapists was discussed and as a result the first university program at the University of Toronto was initiated in 1926.

The Great Depression halted the growth of the OT field until 1939, which included a decrease in practitioners.

6, 1943, the department of defense announced OTs could enlist in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps RCAMC) in the Nursing Corps.

In 1947 The journal, Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation and the first major textbook, Willard & Spackman’s Principles of Occupational Therapy, were finally published.

In 1956 The Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) position was created to alleviate the demand for OT’s who were required to attend 4-6 years of schooling.

In 1959, under the direction of Muriel Driver, the first "Special Courses" in OT were developed into an 18 month program at Queen's University.

During the 1960’s, as medicine became “specialized”, so did OT. Occupational Therapists were also called upon and qualified to treat in the fields of pediatrics and developmental disabilities.

In 1965, Medicare was created and it helped increase the demand for OTs since selected OT services were now covered by Medicare.

The Society continued to represent occupational therapists in the province and In October 1968 the name of the Society was changed to the Ontario Society of Occupational Therapists.

Ten years later, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 not only gave free and proper education to all children regardless of disabilities, it also included OT as a special education service and OTs began to support children in public schools.

“The therapeutic use of work, self-care, and play activities to increase development and prevent disability. It may include adaptation of task or environment to achieve maximum independence and to enhance the quality of life.” (1976)

The 1980s brought new models of treatment including the Model of Human Occupation founded by Gary Kielhofner in 1980 which is an evidence-based model whose goal is to explain the science behind occupational therapy.

On May 17, 1983, the Canadian Occupational Therapy Foundation (COTF) was launched to provide the important step in providing funding for OT research and development projects.

In 1984, Ontario occupational therapists engaged a voluntary college, the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario as a separate bylaw of the OSOT in an effort to demonstrate the profession's commitment to self regulation.

Development of the Master's program and PhD programs in OT. Canada's first MSc OT program was offered by University of Alberta in 1986.

OSOT launched its membership newsletter, The LINK in April 1990, originally as a quarterly update and professional resource but quickly becoming a bi-monthly publication.

Technology had a huge impact on the development of OT. CAOT launched their website in 1998 and offered web seminars, web workshops, online publications, practice resources, and discussion rooms.

In 2002 the CAOT issued a position statement related to entry level educational preparation.

McColl, M., Law, M., Stewart, D., Doubt, L., Pollock, N., and Krupa, T. (2003.) Theoretical Basis of Occupational Therapy Second Edition.