2016 Ruth Zemke Lecture in Occupational Science: Pioneering OT and OS: Ideas and Practitioners before 1917

The concept of using occupation with patients or clients was well established by the time the founders met in Clifton Springs in 1917. The questions are: (1) When did occupation first become viewed as a medium that could have a positive influence on personal health, well-being and participation? (2) Who were the people that first advanced the notion of occupation as a potential positive agent and (3) What were their ideas about how occupation could be used? The answers were found by searching the journal literature using multiple terms, about 25, related to the concept of occupation since the term “occupational therapy” did not appear in print until 1915. Ninety-five articles were located published between 1897 and 1916. Six early practice models were identified by terms used in the authors publications: institutional occupation, diversional occupation, work cure, habit training, workshops and invalid occupation. The authors of the articles were organized into four professional groups: physicians, other professionals (psychologists, nurses, and artists), occupation workers, and occupational therapy personnel. Selected individuals from each group were reviewed along with a sample of their work. The earliest identified published example among the authors was the occupation of gardening initiated in 1896 but not published until 1917. The author was a physician who worked with the psychiatrist, Adolf Meyer, at Kankakee State Hospital in Kankakee, Illinois