Web-based Historical Resources

Introduction

This section contains links to resources that have been developed by the AOTA, International and State Occupational Therapy Associations, Universities with occupational therapy programs, and organizations that provide historical information related to occupational therapy, our professions leaders, and the persons with whom we work. For more information about this project and how you can contribute, click 'Get Involved' below in the Table of Contents.

Get Involved

This compilation of historically-relevant web-based resources is a work in progress. If you would like to contribute to this project, contact the OTL&LS Administrator at administrator@otleaders.org to propose web-based resources that can be considered to add to this list.  

If you are interested in establishing a History Archive for your state or jurisdiction, see Project Overview and Guidelines for Preserving State and U.S. Jurisdiction Occupational Therapy History for a step-by-step guide and strategies you can use to gather, digitize, and share historical artifacts via your association platform, in collaboration with the OTL&LS History Preservation Project.

American Occupational Therapy Association

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 50th Anniversary Celebration Toolkit

• This comprehensive IDEA 50th Anniversary Celebration Toolkit includes a handout, displays, and videos about the IDEA; whole school and in-class activities; adaptive sports and adaptive arts resources; curriculum for the arts, library, physical education, technology, and music; and links to organizations that empower children with disabilities. While this toolkit was developed to celebrate the IDEA and honor its impact on students with disabilities, its contents can be used to advocate for, develop, and implement school-based OT services beyond 2025.

The National Black Occupational Therapy Caucus

• The National Black Occupational Therapy Caucus: In this 2024 podcast, three founders of the National Black Occupational Therapy Caucus (NBOTC), Dr. Joyce Lane, Ms. Jerry Bentley, and Dr. Lela Llorens, the NBOTC President, Dr. Riqiea Kitchens, and Varleisha Lyons, AOTA's VP of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, Access, and Belonging discuss the founding of the NBOTC, their experiences as OTs, and the AOTA INSPIRE NBOTC 50th anniversary celebration, "An Enduring Legacy."

The Network of Occupational Therapy Practitioners with Disabilities and Supporters (NOTPD)

• The Network of OT Practitioners with Disabilities & Supporters website provides a cogent discussion of the history of disability culture in the United States and how it served as a catalyst to the founding of occupational therapy as a profession. It describes the disability rights movement, key federal legislation that advanced the rights of disabled people, and NOTPD’s mission and provides a toolkit of disability culture resources.

The Network for LGBTQIA+ Concerns in Occupational Therapy

• The Network for LGBTQIA+ Concerns in Occupational Therapy's website provides a brief history of the founding of the Network in 1993 and a description of its mission, governing values, and vision. For a more comprehensive history of the Network, see OTLLS Historical Works page for Midge Hobbs (2005) The founding and development of the Network for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns in occupational therapy and P.M. Martin, W.J. Mahoney, and C.O. Peters (2026) Hidden in plain sight: The network for lesbian, gay, and bisexual concerns in occupational therapy (1992-1993).

OT for Native Americans

• OT for Native Americans: In this 2024 podcast, Maggie Deforge, an OT practitioner and chair of the group Occupational Therapy for Native Americans (OTNA) discusses the founding of OTNA, the development of the AOTA Multicultural, Diversity, and Inclusion (MDI) Network and shares her lived experiences, insights, and recommendations to address Native issues and encourage culturally safe practices across settings.

International OT Associations

• Association of Caribbean Occupational Therapists: ACOT History

• Canadian Association of Occupational Therapy: Who We Are and What We Do

• Council of Occupational Therapists for European Countries (COTEC): COTEC

• European Network of Occupational Therapy in Higher Education (ENOTHE): ENOTHE History

• Hong Kong Occupational Therapy Association (HKOTA): The History and Development of OT in Hong Kong

• Japanese Association of Occupational Therapists: JAOT History

• Korean Association of Occupational Therapists: KAOT History

• Latin American Confideration of Occupational Therapists (CLATO): Our Story

• Malaysian Occupational Therapy Association (OT Malaysia): Our Journey Through Time

• Occupational Therapy Africa Regional Group: OTARG About Us

• Occupational Therapist Association of Thailand: The History of Occupational Therapy

• Occupational Therapy Australia: History

• Pakistan - History POTA

• Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT): RCOT History

• Singapore Association of Occupational Therapists: Our History

• The Swedish Association of Occupational Therapists: History of Occupational Therapy in Sweden

• Western Australia | Occupational Therapy Association: History of the WA Occupational Therapy Association

• World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT)

  • History | WFOT provides an overview of WFOT's early years (from 1951-1963) and the Collections | Welcome Collection archives WFOT's founding years and subsequent growth of the organization and the profession between 1951 and present (its holdings include manuscripts, books, journals, paintings, prints, photographs, and audiovisual materials).

  • Home - WFOT | Occupational Narratives Database Project is a digital collection of stories from people of all ages and abilities across the globe about the occupations that give meaning to their lives, occupations people cannot participate in, and the impact occupational participation has on health and wellbeing. This project’s digital stories highlight the value of occupational therapy in enabling occupational participation and social inclusion worldwide.

State OT Associations

The Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC): OTAC History

• The OTAC has compiled a timeline of its formation with 15 Chapters in 1976 upon the merger of the North (NCOTA) and South (SCOTA) and OTAC major events, policies, and achievements that have occurred since then to 2022.

Occupational Therapy Association of Colorado (OTAC): OTAC Licensure History Timeline

Connecticut OT Association (ConnOTA): History of ConnOTA

• The History of ConnOTA website, constructed by ConnOTA historian Judith Sheehan, OTR/L contains a variety of photos, articles, documents, newsletters, annual reports, and other historical documents and resources of interest.

Delaware Occupational Therapy Association (DOTA): DOTA Founding/History

Maryland Occupational Therapy Association (MOTA): Maryland Centennial History

• The Historical Committee of the MOTA in partnership with Towson University’s (TU) Cook Library has compiled several important historical works related to the history of Maryland, including an article about the early beginnings at Sheppard Pratt. This site also includes synopses of interviews with prominent OTs in Maryland's history.

Massachusetts Association of Occupational Therapy (MAOT): MAOT History

Minnesota Occupational Therapy Association: About MOTA

North Carolina Occupational Therapy Association (NCOTA): History of NCOTA

Occupational Therapy Association of Oregon (OTAO): OTAO History

• The History of OTAO website, constructed by Sara Pickett OTR/L, OTAO Past-President and Past-Historian Judith Sheehan, provides the names and descriptions of important OT practitioners in the state's history, listings of past state presidents and individuals who started important OT departments in the state, archival pictures used to promote the profession, and a link to a book about the history of the OTAO that was compiled and published by the Mt. Hood Community College's OTA program (see  Who is Grace Black?: Occupational Therapy in Oregon: Development & Historical Account of the Profession). 

Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Association (POTA): The History of POTA

• The POTA has compiled several historical resources including a video about the history of POTA, the Philly School of Occupational Therapy, the founding of POTA, the development of the COTA and the first OTA school, and the profession’s major trends in Pennsylvania. Plans are underway to collect interviews from past POTA presidents to gain a greater historical perspective of Pennsylvania’s rich history and to conduct interviews about the Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Political Action Committee's (POTPAC) history.

Texas Occupational Therapy Association (TOTA): What Is TOTA

• The Texas Occupational Therapy Association has compiled historical resources on their webpage including a historical video, PowerPoint, list of TOTA past presidents, and information about the Association's history. For interviews of TOTA members’ contributions to occupational therapy and TOTA completed by TOTA’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Adhoc Committee, see the corresponding section on the OTL&LS oral history project webpage.

Utah Occupational Therapy Association (UOTA)

• The UOTA has compiled a chronological list of historical events in the state related to the OT association and the profession.

University Resources

Dalhousie University School of Occupational Therapy

Dalhousie University School of Occupational Therapy: History of OT in Atlantic Canada

Fred Sammons Archive Project

The Fred Sammons Archive Project, at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center

• Fred Sammons is an internationally recognized pioneer in the design, construction, and distribution of adaptive devices, therapeutic equipment, and assistive technology which enables persons with disabilities to engage in their desired activities. The Fred Sammons Archive Project housed in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center includes physical artifacts, a digitized and searchable online database, and more than 30 hours of video that tell the story of Fred’s career as an occupational therapist, inventor, business owner, and philanthropist.

Gallaudet University

• The National Deaf Life Museum at Gallaudet University online exhibition platform provides digital access to stories of Deaf lives in America as told through images, videos, and scholarly interpretations at  Exhibits | Gallaudet University. Resources include the documentary film Through Deaf Eyes | PBS that explores 200 years of Deaf life in America, the exhibit Then and Now · National Deaf Life Museum which chronicles Gallaudet’s 150 years history, and the exhibit Left Behind: HIV/AIDS and the Deaf Community · National Deaf Life Museum and other seminal works.

Jefferson University

Emily Balog, PhDc, MS, OTR/L gave a lecture on Racism and Occupational Injustice provides a foundation for reflection on the historical and political policies that contributed to and sustains the occupational marginalization of people of color and for informed discussion about occupational therapy within the context of social and occupational justice.

Texas Woman's University

Texas Woman's University: Historical OT archives

Tufts University Occupational Therapy Historical Digital Collection and Archives

The Tufts University Department of Occupational Therapy Historical Digital Collection and Archives date back to its inception as The Boston School of Occupational Therapy (BSOT) founded in 1918. The collection includes records, newsletters, early books on occupational therapy practices, theses, digitized images and other information about the faculty, alumni and curriculums.

• Boston School of Occupational Therapy (BSOT) records, 1903-2009

• Boston School of Occupational Therapy Yearbook, 1952-1966

• Tufts BSOT Notes, 2001-2011

• Digitized images available in the Tufts Digital Library

University of Georgia

The University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Sciences documents the history  of disability rights in Georgia via a History Timeline and provides information about the GA Disability History Alliance.

University of Pretoria

University of Pretoria: History of the Department of Occupational Therapy

University of Scranton

University of Scranton: Historical OT resources

• This online historical research guide was developed for University of Scranton graduate students to inform their Leadership in Occupational Therapy historical analysis assignment and includes electronic access to seminal historical resources including e-journals (e.g., Archives of Occupational Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation, The Modern Hospital, Trained Nurse and Hospital Review), e-books (e.g., Tracy 1914, Barton 1919, Dunton 1918), and links to print and online databases.

• Information on this historical analysis assignment can be obtained by contacting Dr. Fleming-Castaldy at rita.fleming-castaldy@scranton.edu.

University of Toledo

The University of Toledo's Disability History Collection includes a regional disability archive, the personal papers of founders of the disability rights movement, the records of the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial Inscription Committee, and the Tom Olin Collection – Documenting the Disability Rights Movement through photos since 1984.

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg: History of the Occupational Therapy Department

USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

The USC Chan Archive at the Center for Occupation and Lifestyle Redesign documents the history of occupational therapy and occupational science at the University of Southern California. It includes artifacts, manuscripts, theses, dissertations, photographs, and more. View the USC-created video about occupational science, research, and the future at 30 Years of USC Occupational Science. View the video of the induction of Lela Llorens, PhD, OTR/Ret., FAOTA into USC's Chan Hall of Honor.

Additional Resources

• See the Oral History Project page for additional University resources

Organizational and Individual Platforms Providing Historical Resources  

The American Association of People with Disabilities

• The Movement - AAPD outlines the history of the disabilities rights movement from the 1940s polio epidemic and the 1960s civil rights movement to the 2020s. The impact of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and significant legislation, judicial decisions and social, cultural, and political changes on disabilities rights are described.

• Ed Roberts, the Disability Rights Movement and the ADA is an outstanding online exhibit that includes seminal archival pictures and videos, and explanatory text about the people and groups who fought for disability rights, advances that were made over the years, and the major challenges disabled people currently face.

American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT)

• ADAPT 25 Years - National ADAPT provides first-hand “I Was There” lived experience narratives from people who participated in fifty ADAPT actions that occurred between 1983-2006, including Tom Olin photos. See the University of Toledo's Disability History Collection, including the Tom Olin Collection, to learn more about disability rights activist and photojournalist Tom Olin and view his photo catalogue about the history of the Independent Living and Disability Rights Movements. 

• Adapt Online Museum stores articles, videos, music, artifacts, and more to represent over 30 years of history of a grassroots disability rights organization.

The Arc

• The Arc's History: Disability Rights and Inclusion Since 1950 explains the founding of the largest community-based organization in the United States that advocates with and for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families, its growth and development, and the evolution of its name over the years. It provides a timeline of key moments in the Arc’s history from 1950 to the present, including major advocacy victories and legislation milestones.

Black-male Registered Occupational Therapy Healthcare-professionals Assistants & Students (BROTHAS)

• B.R.O.T.H.A.S. - Inaugural Black History Event featuring Dr. Moses Ikiugu Meeting Society's Occupational Needs: The Importance of African-American Male Practitioners presented by Moses Ikiugu, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA

• 2nd Annual Black History Month Occupational Therapy Conference - presented by NBOTC/BROTHAS Mental Health: Unmasking the Masked Dilemma.
  Keynote Address: Back to Our Roots: Mental & Behavioral Health presented by Sabrina Salvant, EdD, MPH. OTR/L, FAOTA; Normalizing the Conversation: The Misnomers of Mental Illness presented by Tamerill Faison, OTD, MS, OTR/L; The Hidden Intervention: The Importance of Addressing the Mental Health Component to Improve Patient Functional Outcomes presented by Cynthia Hoskins, DBH, MOT. OTR, CSST-I; and Advocating for OT in Mental Health presented by Judith Joseph, OTR, MA, CDRS.

• 3rd Annual Black History Month Occupational Therapy Conference (Part 1 of 2) Embracing Excellence presented by Christopher Gaskins, PhD, OTR/L. CSRS and Candace Young EdS, COTA/L, CLT.

• 3rd Annual Black History Month Occupational Therapy Conference (Part 2 of 2) Embracing Excellence in Academia: My Journey and Story presented by Amber Armstead, DrPH, OTR, BCPR; Embracing Excellence in Leadership presented by Vicki Thomas, COTA/L, CDP.

• 3rd annual MLK/Colonel William Lofton Memorial Virtual OT Month Address From Clinician to Health Care Executive: Advice for Career Adaptation, Pivoting, and Growth presented by Merritt McKenzie, MSF, MHSA, OTR/L, CHT.

• BROTHAS MLK/COL. William Lofton 4th Annual Memorial Virtual OT Month Keynote Address A Career Journey in Health Care presented by Jamar Haggans, MS, OTR/L, PTA, CPHQ.

• Best Practices to Build Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs in Occupational Therapy presented by Brian Gibbs, PhD, MPA, OTR/L.

Crip Camp Educational Curriculum

• This free curriculum was developed to “extend the knowledge and understanding of disability and of disabled people offered in the film Crip Camp”. It provides frameworks for facilitating discussion, encouraging critical thinking, and promoting action related to the lived experiences and issues presented in Crip Camp | A Disability Revolution. Resources include discussion guides for parents and educators and lesson guides on Media Literacy; Power and Disability Justice; Power and Civil Rights, Ableism, Language & Power; and Strategic Use of Privilege & Power. All curriculum resources are available in English and Spanish.

Disability History Museum

• Disability History Museum provides a wide array of resources and tools to “foster a deeper understanding about how changing cultural values, notions of identity, laws and policies have shaped and influenced the experience of people with disabilities, their families and their communities over time (and) how vital to our common life the experiences of people with disabilities have always been”.

• The Disability History Museum - Library includes publications and records  associated with the history of people with disabilities across the lifespan and diagnosis categories that were produced in the United States from 1800 to the present. 

• The Disability History Museum - Education webpage provides stand-alone lessons and others clustered around central topics. All the lessons include learning objectives, primary sources, background essays, and a study guide. Seven lessons associated with two clusters are currently available.

Disability History NYC

• Disability History New York City chronicles seminal events in the New York City (NYC) disability rights movement and tells the stories of leaders of the NYC disability community. The Our History site includes a virtual gallery based on the first museum exhibition about the NYC Disability Rights Movement presented at the Brooklyn Historical Society on July 1, 2015 in honor of the 25th anniversary of the ADA.

It's Our Story

• It's Our Story is mix media digital archive and a national initiative to make disability history publicly known, accessible, and interactive. It confronts ableism and promotes disability rights by providing a platform for the disabled to share their diverse experiences and knowledge about living with a disability in America. The over 1,300 video interviews from disability leaders across the country that have been collected since 2005 can be viewed at It's Our Story YouTube Channel.

National Museum of Health and Medicine (NMHM)

• NMHM: Historical Collections: History - The Otis Historical Archives of the NMHM holds over 380 collections of historical materials. Collections from 1910s to the 2000s that contain items related to occupational therapy’s history are described on pages 83, 92, 93, 129,132-133 in the NMHM Guide To Collections. They include photographs, biographical information, correspondence, reports, manuscripts, manuals, teaching materials, books, and issues of journals (e.g., Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation, the Come-Back, and Re-Aides Post).

The Viscardi Center 

• History - The Viscardi Center describes its 1952 founding as one of the first centers in the world staffed primarily by wounded veterans and disabled people focused on enabling the inclusion and meaningful employment of people with disabilities, the 1962 establishment of a traditional neighborhood school for students with disabilities, and 60+ years of expanding services and resources including Able News (see About - Able News at The Viscardi Center) and the Museum of Disability History (see Home - Museum of Disability History).

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