ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog

The original book "The Counterpane Fairy" was written and illustrated by Katharine Pyle in 1898 .  It is a fanciful story of a fairy who visits children in their beds as long as they do not cry.  The fairy brings some comfort to these children and has the ability to magically transport them away from their circumstances if they focus on one of the squares of their counterpanes (bedspreads). Occupational therapists may not be aware of how this story is relevant to the profession's history.  This post will conclude the exploration of 'The Case of Lena' and explain how Pyle's story influenced George Barton. Barton did not write much about children but as previously noted he was struck by the 'Case of Lena' and that prompted him to write to his newspaper's editor in January of 1920.  It is hazardous to guess a person's motivation from such a distal historical vantage point, but we do know that Barton referred to Lena as "a very real and...

The 1992 article "Point of Departure: A Play About Founding the Profession" written by Robert Bing, has some notable inaccuracies that require correction.  The article has incorrect dates, incorrect attributions, and factual errors.  The article was written in a somewhat whimsical fashion in the form of a play.  However, it is important for such a telling to correctly reflect the historical record.  It is possible that poetic license, used in context of history, does a disservice to our proper understanding of events as they actually occurred. Contrary to what commonly occurs, I believe that it is important for us to make sure that legends do not become facts. In an article relating to historical documentary methods, Dunne, Pettigrew, and Robinson (2016) state that researchers must be cautious about facts and that simple linear accounting may be helpful to establish basic narratives.  Bing's article does not meet this criteria in that some reported events ...