The founders of occupational therapy perceived rest as one of the performance areas of the profession. They believed that an optimal balance between work, play and rest was crucial in obtaining maximal function and health. However, few occupational therapy theorists or researchers have explored the phenomenon. The authors explored the phenomenon of rest as reported in the literature and through a qualitative study. The results of the literature review showed that rest is differentiated from sleep; rest is equated with interrupting physical and mental activity resulting in a relaxed state. Rest can be achieved by listening to music, hypnosis, reading, walking and sitting quietly. In this exploratory study, seven individuals working at Tel Aviv University were interviewed regarding their definitions of rest. The results indicated that rest was defined as an activity that was personal, quiet and effortless, experienced alone or with friends, and helped in doing daily activities. It is concluded that there is a need for occupational therapists to explore further the phenomenon of rest as it relates to occupational performance, ergonomics and health maintenance. Examining the concept of rest is a challenge that involves returning to the theoretical origins of the profession.

Participation in leisure activities may contribute to the development of social, motor, and language skills, and is therefore especially important for children with learning disabilities. Leisure activities of students in educational settings are performed mostly during breaks. While there have been some studies of the effect of breaks on classroom performance, none have been conducted among children with learning disabilities. Moreover, the role of breaks as a leisure agent was never addressed. The purpose of the study was to examine break activities of children with learning disabilities, through exploration of the correlation between their preferences for break activities and the activities in which they actually engaged. The study found no such correlation. It is therefore suggested that leisure education should provide students with the skills they need in order to choose leisure activities and evaluate the efficacy of the choice they had made.

This article presents both the general concept of postmodernism and its reflection in a wide array of fields of interest. In particular, the paper reviews the postmodernist perspective as it appears in healthcare and medicine. This leads to a postmodernist analysis of the profession of occupational therapy, the main conclusion being that occupational therapy combines elements of modernism and postmodernism. This gives occupational therapy clinicians the luxury of enjoying the best of both worlds.

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The Kohlman Evaluation of Living Skills (KELS) was developed to evaluate Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental ADL (IADL) in a psychiatric population. Later the KELS was assessed and adapted for a geriatric population. The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of the KELS with elderly individuals living in the community in Israel. The subjects included 92 elderly people living in the community, in protected housing facilities for the elderly, and those living in the community and attending day care. Instruments included the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) to determine cognitive function, the Functional Independent Measure (FIM) to determine performance in ADL, and the Routine Task Inventory (RTI) as a measure of IADL to determine criterion validity. Results showed high correlations between the KELS and the RTI (r = 0.895) and the FIM (r = 0.70). The KELS was also found to be highly sensitive to the differences between all three groups, supporting construct validity. Furthermore, the KELS was found to be more sensitive to these differences than the other instruments used in the study. In conclusion, the results show the KELS to be valid and appropriate for use by occupational therapists with the Israeli elderly population, similar to the US population. The study's small sample size limits the generalizability of the findings. It is recommended that further research be done on the KELS with larger and more diverse elderly populations.