How Language May Shape Our Thoughts.

Please check out this article in the July 9, 2009 Newsweek. What’s in a Word? Language may shape our thoughts. By Sharon Begley It has some very interesting insights into language and how people think about things.


I previously discussed this topic related to the use of our title, in particular asking whether we should use the O-Word (Occupation). The answer was and is, "yes". It allows us to expand the way we think about function. However; with this is a warning that the meaning of this word for most people is not what it is for an Occupational Therapist. What about the O-word?

The challenge is open to try to expand the definition of Occupation. It does not appear that this will be possible in this year or in the next few. I discussed this with a representative of Mirriam Webster's Dictionary and it was not possible. Let's get our definition in the Dictionary!


What does this mean for us? To me it means we need to consider the words we use to promote our profession and that it does matter whether people understand the word we are using.

With only a very limited definition of Occupation available to people how can we blame them for not understanding. It is up to us to reach out to the people. We can do this by using words that have positive meaning and capture the essence of what we do.

In the word "Functional" we have the basic idea of the way we work. We structure our treatments with a focus on the function task you must do. This may involve addressing the cognitive skills, the physical skills, the motivational and social skills that go into the task. Then the functional task itself, be it work, self care or leisure, is can be the focus of our treatment. It is the emphasis on doing something functional (not just fixing the structure) that Occupational Therapy has brought to the world. By using the protected title of Registered Functional Therapist we can more clearly help people understand how we can help them.

Functional versus Occupational on the Visual Thesaurus

It's something to think about.

Yours,

Ed Kaine, OTR, RFT
President of the League of Functional Therapists

Functional Therapy... the Next Generation of Occupational Therapy!