When Leonard Allbon arrived in Edmonton in 1960 to start the occupational therapy program at the University of Alberta, he wouldn't have imagined the class that began with five students would grow into more than 100 Master's students 50 years later.
Register here for OT's 50th Anniversary Celebration on May 14, 2011
"I flew from Great Britain specifically for the job-and in those days, we still had propeller-driven planes!" the 89-year-old says.
Occupational therapy was offered as a diploma program at the time. A new combined physical therapy/occupational therapy program was launched in 1960. After two years, the students would choose OT or PT. Five of the 18 students who chose OT made up the first official OT class, graduating in 1963.
"It was a great program, very practical. OT concentrated on day-to-day living for patients," Allbon says. "We used crafts, sewing, carpentry and basketry to help patients get moving. They became exercises to help people move their arms and get mobility in their shoulders.
"The students would all go to the anatomy department for the cadaver component of the program. Class and lab time was spent in a building behind Athabasca and in Corbett Hall. We later moved entirely to the basement of Corbett," explains the World War II air force veteran.
Allbon specialized in physical medicine and psychiatric medicine in Great Britain. He became interested in occupational therapy and later received further training. Allbon was hired by Dr. J.R. Fowler, director of the rehabilitation school. As director of the OT program, Allbon worked closely with Elizabeth Rowland, head occupational therapist at the University of Alberta Hospital, to organize and develop the curriculum.
"At the time, there was a demand for OT because of the soldiers who returned home after the war. There were many psychiatric patients too, due to post traumatic stress disorders and depression.
"Our lab had woodwork benches, tables, chairs, sewing machines, and cupboards to hold our tools for carpentry, pottery, metal work and basketry. The program was heavy on using activity to train patients to use their arms and hands," he explains.
Fast forward 50 years and occupational therapy exercises seem like they may have changed, but the basic purpose of getting people living to their fullest still remains.
"Occupational therapy is about how we can help a person do the activities that are important to that person. If a person cannot do the activity in the same way most people do it, we try to find ways to help the person do it in a different way, in 'his or her way,'" says Lili Liu, PhD, Chair, Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. "Occupational therapy has evolved. Occupational therapists use their knowledge about health sciences, and their understanding about the environments of people they help."
Now one of the largest OT programs in Canada, the U of A graduates more than 100 MSc OT's each year. The only program in Alberta, the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine's OT program provides students with a range of fieldwork experience across the province, with a mandatory rural clinical placement component.
"Our program is situated within the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, the only free standing rehabilitation faculty in North America. This structure facilitates effective representation of our discipline to senior administration and gives rehabilitation an autonomous voice within the university," Liu says. "I'm very proud of our faculty and alumni. They have received national and international recognition for their clinical service, research and teaching."
Many faculty members have held significant positions in the world of occupational therapy. Liz Taylor, Sharon Brintnell and Helen Madill have served as President of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT). Jutta Hinrichs is the Alberta director to the CAOT Board. Shaniff Esmail is past Chair of the CAOT Academic Credentialing Council and Sharon Brintnell is President of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists.
U of A OT has also made a global impact on the profession. "In the early 1990s we trained four physical therapists from Indonesia to become the first occupational therapists in their country. Since their return to Indonesia, they have established a program which has trained over 400 Indonesian occupational therapists," says Liu.
The Occupational Therapy 50th Anniversary Celebration - Saturday, May 14, 2011
Join fellow OTs on Saturday, May 14, 2011 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for an afternoon tea and reception at the Lister Centre. Guests will be treated to a lovely time walking down memory lane, as there will be a story teller, photo booth, student postcards, and OT memorabilia from the archives, old friends, classmates, and professors, not to mention a few other surprises. As alumni and families gather together, we will celebrate the history of occupational therapy and together remember the past achievements, present endeavours and the future possibilities in occupational therapy.
Register here
Register here for OT's 50th Anniversary Celebration on May 14, 2011
"I flew from Great Britain specifically for the job-and in those days, we still had propeller-driven planes!" the 89-year-old says.Occupational therapy was offered as a diploma program at the time. A new combined physical therapy/occupational therapy program was launched in 1960. After two years, the students would choose OT or PT. Five of the 18 students who chose OT made up the first official OT class, graduating in 1963.
"It was a great program, very practical. OT concentrated on day-to-day living for patients," Allbon says. "We used crafts, sewing, carpentry and basketry to help patients get moving. They became exercises to help people move their arms and get mobility in their shoulders.
"The students would all go to the anatomy department for the cadaver component of the program. Class and lab time was spent in a building behind Athabasca and in Corbett Hall. We later moved entirely to the basement of Corbett," explains the World War II air force veteran.
Allbon specialized in physical medicine and psychiatric medicine in Great Britain. He became interested in occupational therapy and later received further training. Allbon was hired by Dr. J.R. Fowler, director of the rehabilitation school. As director of the OT program, Allbon worked closely with Elizabeth Rowland, head occupational therapist at the University of Alberta Hospital, to organize and develop the curriculum.
"At the time, there was a demand for OT because of the soldiers who returned home after the war. There were many psychiatric patients too, due to post traumatic stress disorders and depression."Our lab had woodwork benches, tables, chairs, sewing machines, and cupboards to hold our tools for carpentry, pottery, metal work and basketry. The program was heavy on using activity to train patients to use their arms and hands," he explains.
Fast forward 50 years and occupational therapy exercises seem like they may have changed, but the basic purpose of getting people living to their fullest still remains.
"Occupational therapy is about how we can help a person do the activities that are important to that person. If a person cannot do the activity in the same way most people do it, we try to find ways to help the person do it in a different way, in 'his or her way,'" says Lili Liu, PhD, Chair, Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. "Occupational therapy has evolved. Occupational therapists use their knowledge about health sciences, and their understanding about the environments of people they help."
Now one of the largest OT programs in Canada, the U of A graduates more than 100 MSc OT's each year. The only program in Alberta, the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine's OT program provides students with a range of fieldwork experience across the province, with a mandatory rural clinical placement component.
"Our program is situated within the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, the only free standing rehabilitation faculty in North America. This structure facilitates effective representation of our discipline to senior administration and gives rehabilitation an autonomous voice within the university," Liu says. "I'm very proud of our faculty and alumni. They have received national and international recognition for their clinical service, research and teaching."
Many faculty members have held significant positions in the world of occupational therapy. Liz Taylor, Sharon Brintnell and Helen Madill have served as President of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT). Jutta Hinrichs is the Alberta director to the CAOT Board. Shaniff Esmail is past Chair of the CAOT Academic Credentialing Council and Sharon Brintnell is President of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists.
U of A OT has also made a global impact on the profession. "In the early 1990s we trained four physical therapists from Indonesia to become the first occupational therapists in their country. Since their return to Indonesia, they have established a program which has trained over 400 Indonesian occupational therapists," says Liu.
The Occupational Therapy 50th Anniversary Celebration - Saturday, May 14, 2011
Join fellow OTs on Saturday, May 14, 2011 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for an afternoon tea and reception at the Lister Centre. Guests will be treated to a lovely time walking down memory lane, as there will be a story teller, photo booth, student postcards, and OT memorabilia from the archives, old friends, classmates, and professors, not to mention a few other surprises. As alumni and families gather together, we will celebrate the history of occupational therapy and together remember the past achievements, present endeavours and the future possibilities in occupational therapy.
Register here