Is occupational therapy an ableist health profession? A critical reflection on ableism and occupational therapy

Abstract

Introduction There is a need to engage in critical reflection and reflexivity to deconstruct ableist conceptualisations and practices in occupational therapy. Objectives: 1) to discuss ableism as a social construction within a practice system, 2) to deconstruct ableist mechanisms employed within occupational therapy practice, and 3) to propose inclusive and justice-oriented practices that can improve patterns of practices within the occupational therapy profession. Method Online discussions and reflective writing, producing critical reflections, were done to curate our experiences and insights based on our personal and professional experiences, thoughts, and observations as Filipino occupational therapy practitioners. Critical reflexivity was seen both as process and output to address the research objectives. Findings Despite the efforts of scholars, educators, and practitioners in employing inclusive and justice-oriented occupational therapy practices, ableism continues to proliferate through overt and covert mechanisms within professional practices. Conclusion As the occupational therapy profession continues to evolve, practitioners are expected to be critically reflective and reflexive to mitigate discriminatory practices and promote inclusive and participatory practices today and beyond. This article hopes to serve as an eye-opener for occupational therapy practitioners and reconsider their doings, knowings, and sayings in their present and future practice.

Children with special needs and their access to rehabilitation services in the Philippines: A Q methodology study on perceived barriers by family members

“…Hehir [23] defined ableism as “the devaluation of disability” that “results in societal attitudes that uncritically assert that it is better for a child to walk than roll, speak than sign, read print than read Braille, spell independently than use a spell‐check, and hang out with nondisabled kids as opposed to other disabled kids.” By definition, ableism is the discrimination of people favoring able‐bodied people over those with disability. The proliferation of ableist attitudes and practices in health care, especially in occupational therapy [24], do not adhere to the tenets of the social model of disability. Viewpoint 1 opens clarifications on how barriers can be systemic and patterned.…”

“…The uncritical practices anchored on the hegemonic biomedical model in rehabilitation services perpetuate these patterned barriers. These, then, must be replaced by the integration of participatory, inclusive, and justice‐orientated practices [24] when designing and implementing rehabilitation programs that can improve desired outcomes toward inclusivity in health care.…”

“…By definition, ableism is the discrimination of people favoring able-bodied people over those with disability. The proliferation of ableist attitudes and practices in health care, especially in occupational therapy [24], do not adhere to the tenets of the social model of disability. Viewpoint 1 opens clarifications on how barriers can be systemic and patterned.…”

Neurodiversity-Affirming Applied Behavior Analysis

“…However, it is not yet clear whether these changes are sufficiently substantive and whether unintentional harm may have been caused due to their historical absence. It is important to note that criticisms regarding ableist practices are not isolated to ABA; for example, concerns exist regarding special and general education (Timberlake, 2020), occupational therapy (Hammell, 2022;Yao et al, 2022), and speech/language pathology (DeThorne & Gerlach-Houck, 2022). However, along with other fields, "we must be ready to genuinely apologize and commit to doing better.…”