16 APRI 25, 2011 • WWW.AOTA.ORG

1917National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy, Inc. (NSPOT) founded as professional association.

First Annual NSPOT Meeting held in New York City, with 6 in attendance.

1921Board of Management and House of Delegates governance structure established.

1922First professional journal, Archives of Occupational Therapy, published.

1923NSPOT renamed The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. (AOTA).

Earliest AOTA educational standards announced.

1925Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation journal published.

1930AOTA and the American Medical Association Council on Medical Education and Hospitals (AMA–CMEH) affiliated to accredit occupational therapy programs.

1935AOTA and AMA–CMEH published “Essentials of An Acceptable School of Occupational Therapy,” and four schools accredited.

1939Opening issue of Occupational Therapy News published.

Consolation House, Clifton Springs, NY, 1917. First meeting of the National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy.

Association founders at Consolation House, Clifton Springs, New York, 1917. Standing l to r: William Rush Dunton, Isabel Newton, and George Edward Barton. Seated l to r: Susan Cox Johnson, George Edward Barton, and Eleanor Clarke Slagle.

Early membership card.

Reconstruction aides supervise recovering servicemen in craft activities in the early years of World War I.

Archives of Occupational Therapy, 1922

Occupational Therapy & Rehabilitation, 1925

Eleanor Clarke Slagle and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt at AOTA’s 1937 Annual Meeting in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

History of the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.In honor of Occupational Therapy Month, OT Practice this year presents highlights from the history of the

American Occupational Therapy Association, from its founding in 1917 to the great contributions its members provide today to the occupational therapy profession.

17OT PRACTICE • APRI 25, 2011

1947Winifred Kahmann became the first occupational therapy professional elected as AOTA president.

American Journal of Occupational Therapy (AJOT) launched as official journal.

First edition of Occupational Therapy textbook by Helen S. Willard and Clare S. Spackman released.

1950First AOTA Award of Merit presented in honor of significant contributions to the profession.

1952AOTA became official member of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT).

1955First Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecture awarded. The Lecture became the foundation for documenting the advancement of occupational therapy.

1958First Essentials and Guidelines for an Approved Educational Program for Occupational Therapy Assistant adopted.

1963Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) membership category created.

1964The American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF) incorporated.

1965Governance bodies renamed as Executive Board and Delegate Assembly.

1966American Student Committee of the Occupational Therapy Association (ASCOTA) organized.

1968First professional lobbyist retained for federal advocacy.

1972AOTA National Office relocated from New York City to Rockville, Maryland

The American Journal of Occupational Therapy (AJOT), the profession’s leading peer- reviewed journal, began publishing in February 1947.

Willard and Spackman authored the text used by generations of occupational therapists.

Winifred Kahmann, first OT professional elected as AOTA president, working with children.

Cord knotting was one of the activities prescribed for this Air Force vet receiving occupational therapy in a World War II military hospital.

A polio patient in the 1950s completes a lacing project using a standing harness.

In 1957, Mrs. Harris, OTR, uses coordination activities with children who are recovering from polio.

Overhead arm slings help position a patient for performing functional activities in an occupational therapy clinic of the 1960s.

50th AOTA anniversary celebration at the Sheraton-Boston Hotel Prudential Center in 1967.

History of the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

18 APRI 25, 2011 • WWW.AOTA.ORG

1973AOTA Roster of Fellows established to recognize contributions to the profession.

1975OTA Award of Excellence created to honor OTAs.

Florida and New York became first states to enact occupational therapy licensure laws.

1976AOTA policymaking body Delegate Assembly renamed Representative Assembly.

1977First national certification examination administered to OTAs.

Committee of State Association Presidents (CSAP) instituted.

Original Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics adopted.

First Special Interest Sections created— Developmental Disabilities, Gerontology, Mental Health, Physical Disabilities, and Sensory Integration.

1978AOTA Roster of Honor established to recognize contributions by occupational therapy assistants.

American Occupational Therapy Political Action Committee (AOTPAC) established.

1981First issue of AOTF’s Occupational Therapy Journal of Research (OTJR) published.

1986AOTA became a voluntary membership organization and created American Occupational Therapy Certification Board (AOTCB) to administer certification exam.

1987OT Week periodical published as new benefit to members.

1990AOTA and AOTF governing boards established Presidents’ Commendation in Honor of Wilma L. West Award for outstanding leaders.

1991First Terry Brittell OTA/OT Partnership Award presented in acknowledgment of professional alliance.

1993First “Capitol Hill Day” held to involve members in grassroots advocacy.

1994AOTA moved to new headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland.

The AOTA Accreditation Committee renamed Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE®) and became an operational accrediting agency independent of AMA.

Ensuring accessibility for the wheelchair user was a top occupational therapy priority in 1972, as shown by Diane Haglund, OTR.

The Occupational Therapy Journal of Research began publication in 1981.

OT Week began publication in 1987.

First AOTA/AOTF Presidents’ Commendation in Honor of Wilma L. West Award was awarded to Wilma L. West in 1990.

First “Hill Day” was held in 1993 and brought members to Washington, DC, to lobby on behalf of the profession.

In 1994, AOTA moved to its new building at 4720 Montgomery Lane in Bethesda, MD.

New AOTA logo design launched in 1986.

Early SIS newsletters.

New AOTA logo design launched in 1986.

Early SIS newsletters.

History of the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

AOTPAC founded in 1978.

19OT PRACTICE • APRI 25, 2011

1995AOTA launched OT Practice magazine to provide clinical practice information.

1997AOTA Web site with url www.AOTA.org established as occupational therapy online resource.

1998First voting OTA representative elected to AOTA Executive Board.

1999Publication of OT Week ceased and its content was integrated into OT Practice.

Resolution J, “Movement To Required Postbaccalaureate Level of Education,” adopted by Representative Assembly.

2001AOTA Board of Directors approved “Affiliation Principles for AOTA and State Associations.”

2002AOTA Press established as Association’s publishing group.

2006Centennial Vision launched to reach goals for the profession by AOTA’s 100th anniversary in 2017.

New AOTA Board Certification and Specialty Certification programs launched.

2007Accreditation standards that require entry into the profession as an occupational therapist at the master’s level or above were implemented.

The first annual AOTA/NBCOT National Student Conclave held for occupational therapy students.

2008OT Connections social-networking site activated.

2009Professional brand “Occupational Therapy: Living Life To Its Fullest™” inaugurated in support of the Centennial Vision.

2010AJOT launched as electronic journal.

OT Practice launched in 1995.

AOTA Web site launched in 1997.

AOTA Press founded in 2002.

Centennial Vision finalized in 2006.

More than 560 students attended first AOTA/NBCOT National Student Conclave held in Pittsburgh in November 2007.

OT Connections launched in 2008.

Brand launched in 2009.

▲ PoweredMobilityandPreschoolers

▲ PragmatismandStructuralism inOccupationalTherapy

▲ OccupationalTherapyEffectiveness: Handwriting

▲ AssessmentofComputerTask Performance

THEAMERICANJOURNALOF

Occupational Therapy®

T H E A M E R I C A N O C C U P A T I O N A L T H E R A P Y A S S O C I A T I O N, I N C.

January / February 2002Volume 56 / Number 1

AJOT Online launched in 2010.OT practitioners in the military provide intervention to wounded warriors all over the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

History of the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

New AOTA Board Certification and Specialty Certification program began in 2006.

™

CE ARTICLE

Secondary Prevention Related to Work: The Role of Occupational Therapy

®

PLUSPictorial History of AOTAEvidence PerksNews, Capital Briefing, & More

AOTA T H E A M E R I C A N O C C U P A T I O N A L T H E R A P Y A S S O C I A T I O N

APRIL 25, 2011

Fieldworkn Navigating Fieldwork’s Ethical Challengesn Reflective Writing in Level II Fieldwork

To Promote Clinical Reasoning