A-2: BELIEFS ABOUT HUMANS AND OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY STUDENT HANDBOOK

The American Occupational Therapy Association’s Vision 2025 states:

“As an inclusive profession, occupational therapy maximizes health, well-being, and quality of life for all people, populations and communities through effective solutions that facilitate participation in everyday living.”

The University of WI-La Crosse’s Occupational Therapy Program strives to equip students with the qualities and skills required to assist with meeting this national vision of clinicians that provide services that are effective, influential, collaborative, accessible and embrace diversity.

A-2: Beliefs about Humans and Occupation

In addition to adopting the philosophy of the profession of occupational therapy, we believe that the Occupational Therapy Framework: Domain and Processes (AOTA, 2014) is a useful way to organize thinking about occupational performance. The components of the Domain (Areas of Occupation, Performance Skills, Performance Patterns, Context, Activity Demands, and Client Factors) all have significant impact on performance and need to be considered in order to improve participation and quality of life. We believe that the occupations that we engage in today have an effect on both our current and future health. Participation in meaningful occupations enhances the quality of life, supports self-actualization, and improves occupational balance. (AOTA, 2007)

A client-centered approach is essential in meeting the needs of the individuals we serve. We believe that excellent occupational therapy is person centered and addresses each individual client’s occupational performance: the ability to perform desired and needed occupations in whatever context the client functions. We believe that occupational therapy can occur wherever humans are engaged in purposeful, meaningful activity which can be facilitated through the delivery of services, consultation and advocacy.

References:

American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). (2020). Vision 2025. Retrieved from https://www.aota.org/AboutAOTA/vision-

2025.aspx

American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) (2018). Philosophy of occupational therapy education. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 72(Suppl. 2), 7212410070. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2018.72S201

American Occupational Therapy Association. (2015). Occupational therapy code of ethics (2015). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 69(Suppl. 3), 6913410030. http://dx.doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2015.696S03

American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) (2014). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68(Suppl. 1), S1-S48. http://dx.doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2014.682006 American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) (2011). The philosophical base of occupational therapy. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 65(Suppl.), S65. doi:10.5014/ajot.2011.65S65