American Occupational Therapy Association

The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) is the national professional association established in 1917 to represent the interests and concerns of occupational therapy practitioners and students and improve the quality of occupational therapy services. AOTA membership is approximately 63,000 occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and students.

American Occupational Therapy Association
AbbreviationAOTA
FoundedOctober 19, 1917 (1917-10-19)[1]
TypeProfessional association
13-1526422[2]
Legal status501(c)(6)[2]
PurposeTo advance occupational therapy practice, education, and research through standard-setting and advocacy on behalf of its members, the profession, and the public.[2]
Sherry Keramidas[3]
SubsidiariesThe Fund to Promote Awareness of Occupational Therapy (501(c)(3)),
American Occupational Therapy Association Political Action Committee (527)[2]
Revenue (2019)
$21,469,960[2]
Expenses (2019)$19,272,678[2]
Endowment$286,293 (2019)[2]
Employees (2018)
85[2]
Volunteers (2018)
800[2]
Websitewww.aota.org
Formerly called
National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy

The National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy was the founding name of the AOTA. Occupational therapy was launched as a new profession at the first meeting of the National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy at Consolation House, Clifton Springs, New York in March 1917. The Society was founded by a small group of people from diverse backgrounds. There was George Edward Barton (1871-1923) an architect, William Rush Dunton (1865-1966) a psychiatrist, Eleanor Clarke Slagle (1870-1942) a social worker and occupational therapist, Thomas B Kidner (1866-1932) a vocational educator, Susan Cox Johnson (1875-1932) an arts and crafts teacher, Susan E. Tracy (1864-1928) a nurse, Herbert James Hall (1870-1923) a physician and Isabel Gladwin Newton Barton (1891-1975) the secretary and author. Their wide ranging interests, including moral treatment, pragmatism, habit training, mental hygiene movement, curative occupations and the arts and craft movement, laid the foundations for occupational therapy.[4] [5]  The founders’ vision was the ‘advancement of occupation as a therapeutic measure; for the study of the effect of occupation upon the human being; and for the scientific dispensation of this knowledge’.[6]

AOTA designated April as Occupational Therapy Month.[7]

See also

References
  1. "American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc., The - Initial File Number: 762419". Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Government of the District of Columbia. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  2. "Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax". The American Occupational Therapy Association Inc. Internal Revenue Service. June 30, 2019.
  3. "Executives and Staff Leadership". American Occupational Therapy Association. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  4. Peloquin, Suzanne M. (April 1, 1991). "Occupational Therapy Service: Individual and Collective Understandings of the Founders, Part 1". The American Journal of Occupational Therapy. 45 (4): 352–360. doi:10.5014/ajot.45.4.352. ISSN 0272-9490.
  5. Peloquin, Suzanne M. (August 1, 1991). "Occupational Therapy Service: Individual and Collective Understandings of the Founders, Part 2". The American Journal of Occupational Therapy. 45 (8): 733–744. doi:10.5014/ajot.45.8.733. ISSN 0272-9490.
  6. Andersen, Lori T.; Reed, Kathlyn L. (2017). The history of occupational therapy: the first century. Thorofare, NJ: SLACK Incorporated. ISBN 978-1-61711-997-2.
  7. "Occupational Therapy Month". American Occupational Therapy Association. AOTA. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
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