Muriel Zimmerman

Muriel Ellen Zimmerman (1916 – September 25, 2014) was an American occupational therapist, head of the Self-Help Device Unit at the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine in New York City.

Muriel Zimmerman
A older white woman with short grey hair, wearing a lab coat.
Muriel Zimmerman, from a 1983 newspaper.
Born1916
Lehman, Pennsylvania
DiedSeptember 25, 2014
Colonie, New York
OccupationOccupational therapist

Early life

Zimmerman was born in 1916, in Lehman, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Frederick U. Zimmerman and Mabel Ellen Dana Zimmerman.[1] She trained as an occupational therapist at the Philadelphia School of Occupational Therapy.[2]

Career

Zimmerman was supervisor of occupational therapy and associate director at the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (IRM) in New York.[3] She taught occupational therapy courses at New York University from 1956 to 1974.[4] Her work as head of the institute's Self-Help Device Unit[5] focused on creating devices for rehabilitation, including the universal cuff, the Swedish Arm Support (deltoid aid), and finger splints, and on introducing assistive technology to disabled users.[6] She encouraged her clients to be resourceful in crafting their own tools and gadgets,[7] including everyday self-care items such as tableware and clothing.[8][9] She also established occupational therapy programs in other countries.[10]

Zimmerman was author of Self-Help Devices for Rehabilitation (1958), and co-author of Living with a Disability (1953, with Howard Rusk and Eugene J. Taylor), and Functional Fashions for the Physically Handicapped (1961, with Helen Cookman).[11] In 1960 she gave the Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecture, titled "Devices: Development and Direction".[12]

Personal life

Zimmerman died in 2014, aged 98 years, in Colonie, New York.[1]

References
  1. "Muriel Zimmerman". Albany Times-Union. September 25, 2014.
  2. Peters, Christine; Martin, Peggy; Mahoney, Wanda (2017-01-01). "The Philadelphia School of Occupational Therapy: A Centennial Lesson". Journal of Occupational Therapy Education. 1 (1). doi:10.26681/jote.2017.010108. ISSN 2573-1378.
  3. McCormack, Patricia (1983-12-04). "Rehab Specialists Pick Gifts for Disabled". Sunday-The Daily News. p. 272. Retrieved 2020-07-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Peters, Christine Olga (2014-07-10). Powerful Occupational Therapists: A Community of Professionals, 1950-1980. Routledge. pp. 163–164. ISBN 978-1-317-98087-2.
  5. Gregg, John (1962-05-13). "Miracles on 34th Street". Daily News. p. 449. Retrieved 2020-07-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Polgar, Jan Miller (October 2006). "Assistive Technology as an Enabler to Occupation: What's Old is New Again". Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy. 73 (4): 199–204. doi:10.1177/000841740607300403. ISSN 0008-4174. PMID 17089643. S2CID 27365249.
  7. Williamson, Bess (2019). Accessible America: A History of Disability and Design. Vol. 2. NYU Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-4798-9409-3. JSTOR j.ctvwrm3zv.
  8. "Living with a Disability (1953)". Chipstone. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  9. Rice, Martin; Cutler, Susan K. (2012-02-15). Clinical Research in Occupational Therapy. Cengage Learning. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-111-64331-7.
  10. Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship Award Recipients, AOTA.
  11. Cookman, Helen; Zimmerman, Muriel E. (1961). Functional Fashions for the Physically Handicapped. Institute of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, New York University Medical Center – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "100 Influential People in Occupational Therapy: Muriel Zimmerman". The American Occupational Therapy Association. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
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