ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog

The American Occupational Therapy Association recently publicized a claim that although 90.9% of respondents in their workforce survey were women that male practitioners make 14.7% more than women, despite setting, years of education, or position.  They added the following editorial comments : "Want to earn what you deserve and be more confident? You don’t have to join the boys’ club or be aggressive." This is an interesting claim so I decided to research these statements and see if they could be validated.  Data on wage disparity was not previously collectible in OT because of low numbers of men responding to workforce or wage surveys.  There was a parallel problem in the nursing profession.  However, in a recent large scale study in the nursing profession (also dominated by women wage earners) male nurses made $5,100 more on average per year than female colleagues in similar positions (Muench, Sindelar, Busch, and Buerhaus, 2015).  However, the study r...

"Today is my sad day," stated Lauren, in a matter of fact tone. I work with many children who have superior language skills.  Often, those language skills outpace motor expression and emotional coping ability.  Sometimes doctors or psychologists call it a non-verbal learning problem or sometimes they will label it Asperger's Syndrome if the child has other behavioral quirks.  Either way, I am accustomed to hearing kids say things to me that would take the average listener off guard. Lauren was a quick-witted and confident child with uneven red bangs from her own attempts at hair-styling.  Besides those bangs she had long tangled curls cascading down her back because she could not stand having her hair brushed.  Lauren had a habit of curling and twisting her hair in her hands, contributing to the tangles.  The mom intended to cut her hair to her shoulders but Lauren bargained herself a delay because she wanted long hair and also because she had the abili...