American Occupational Therapy Association

The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) is the national professional association established in 1917 to represent the interests and concerns of occupational therapy practitioners and students and improve the quality of occupational therapy services.

The American Occupational Therapy Association building in Bethesda, Maryland

American Occupational Therapy Association

Abbreviation	AOTA
Founded	October 19, 1917; 107 years ago (1917-10-19)[1]
Type	Professional association
Tax ID no.	13-1526422[2]
Legal status	501(c)(6)[2]
Purpose	To advance occupational therapy practice, education, and research through standard-setting and advocacy on behalf of its members, the profession, and the public.[2]
Executive director	Sherry Keramidas[3]
Subsidiaries	The Fund to Promote Awareness of Occupational Therapy (501(c)(3)), American Occupational Therapy Association Political Action Committee (527)[2]
Revenue	$21,469,960[2] (2019)
Expenses	$19,272,678[2] (2019)
Endowment	$286,293 (2019)[2]
Employees	85[2] (2018)
Volunteers	800[2] (2018)
Website	www.aota.org
Formerly called	National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy

The National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy was the founding name of the AOTA. Occupational therapy was launched as a new profession at the first meeting of the National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy at Consolation House, Clifton Springs, New York in March 1917.

The Society was founded by a small group of people from diverse backgrounds. There was George Edward Barton (1871–1923) an architect, William Rush Dunton (1865–1966) a psychiatrist, Eleanor Clarke Slagle (1870–1942) a social worker and occupational therapist, Thomas B Kidner (1866–1932) a vocational educator, Susan Cox Johnson (1875–1932) an arts and crafts teacher, Susan E. Tracy (1864–1928) a nurse, Herbert James Hall (1870–1923) a physician and Isabel Gladwin Newton Barton (1891–1975) the secretary and author. Their wide ranging interests, including moral treatment, pragmatism, habit training, mental hygiene movement, curative occupations and the arts and craft movement, laid the foundations for occupational therapy.^[4][5]  The founders' vision was the 'advancement of occupation as a therapeutic measure; for the study of the effect of occupation upon the human being; and for the scientific dispensation of this knowledge'.^[6]

In 1952, the American Association was one of ten founder members of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT). The other associations were from the Australia, Canada, Denmark, India, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden and United Kingdom (England and Scotland).^[7]

AOTA designated April as Occupational Therapy Month.^[8]

See also

• American Journal of Occupational Therapy published by AOTA since 1947
• Anna Jean Ayres (1920–1989), a developmental psychologist known for her work in the area of sensory processing disorder
• American Occupational Therapy Foundation, a charitable, scientific and educational non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of occupational therapy and increased public understanding