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 Enabling occupational performance: The Canadian Perspective
Canada
3 graduate credits in occupational therapy
July 11 – 19 or 22, 2008
Professor Dianne F. Simons
$1,110 + airfare + VCU tuition (+ $360 for optional three day excursion to Toronto)
Registration deadline: March 15, 2008
Program description and application [PDF]
The Office of International Education, School of Allied Health Professions, and Department of Occupational Therapy are pleased to offer the opportunity for students to learn about client-centered practice from one of the principal architects of the concept, Dr. Thelma Sumsion. Students will study on-site at the University of Western Ontario, in London, Ontario, Canada. This is an excellent opportunity for participants to learn about Canadian culture and how it has impacted the development of the Canadian focus on enabling occupation and client-centered practice.
The Canadians initiated the concepts of client-centered practice and enabling occupation. They have developed related theories, conducted research and published extensively about implementing the concepts in practice. The faculty of the University of Western Ontario are recognized leaders and authors on client-centered practice and enabling occupation and is one of the top research-intensive universities in Canada. The School of Occupational Therapy is offering the first Ph.D. degree in occupational science. Information on the School and the exceptional OT faculty can be found at www.uwo.ca. Sumison stepped down as director of the UWO program in 2007 but remains on the faculty.
She has:
- Served as the chair of the Canadian Association of OT Council of Practice in the late 1970s and 1980s.
- Co-chaired a series of three task forces that lead to the development of nationally-based, generic guidelines for the practice of occupational therapy in Canada.
- Was a principal contributor to three enormously influential publications: “Guidelines for the Client-Centered Practice of Occupational Therapy,” “Intervention Guidelines for the Client-Centered Practice of Occupational Therapy” and “Toward Outcome Measures in Occupational Therapy,” which later consolidated by the CAOT into the 1991 edition of “Occupational Therapy Guidelines for Client-Centered Practice (Guidelines),” which formulated the Canadian Model of Occupational Performance.
- Served as President of CAOT from 1988-1990.
- Was honored by CAOT as the Muriel Driver Memorial Lecturer in1986.
- Earned her Ph.D. in 2002 from Brunel University in London, England –dissertation research was defining client-centered practice.
- Is recognized as an international expert on theoretical underpinnings and practical application of the client-centered practice approach.
- Is the author of the text that will be used in the class, “Client-centered Practice in Occupational Therapy: A Guide to Implementation (2006).”
 Course and credit options: OCCT 700
Course description: Introduces the guiding principles for enabling occupation within a Canadian context. The course examines client-centered practice from the perspective of Canadian occupational therapists and publications by the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists. It will focus on theory and implementation. Characteristics of the components of the Canadian Occupational Performance Model will be examined as determinants of health, well being, and participation by individuals, groups and communities. It will examine a range of issues pertaining to Canadian society, culture, history, and trends that have affected the health and social services system and comparison of the Canadian and American systems. The course will take place in the summer semester in Canada.
2008 estimated program budget
Program cost: $1,110 + airfare + applicable VCU tuition (+ $360 for optional three day excursion to Toronto)
The program fee is $1,110 includes the following:
- Accommodations, including breakfast while in London, Ontario in the UWO Western Bed and Breakfast in Elgin Hall
- Study visits and tours to practice sites in London
- Excursions in London and Stratford, Ontario
- Ground transportation
- On-site program director support
- Application fee and deposit
- Pre-departure orientation
- VCU administrative fees
- International student identification card
 The following are not included in the program fee. Students are responsible for:
- Airfare
- VCU tuition and fees
- Lunches and dinners (estimated at $25-30 per day)
- Breakfasts for the three days in Toronto (optional)
- Passport application fee
- Personal expenses
- Books (estimated at $123)
- Anything not specifically mentioned above
Please budget for these additional expenses.
Airfare: Airfare is not included. Participants are responsible for their own round-trip travel arrangements between the United States and London, Ontario, Canada. Excluding airfares from the program cost provides students with the flexibility for additional travel prior to or following the program, and choice of airports for students traveling from areas outside of Richmond.
 Eligibility: Students enrolled or planning to apply to the VCU Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) or post-professional M.S. program. Students who have completed their first year in the entry-level M.S. program are also eligible. With the permission of the program director, Dianne F. Simons, Ph.D., OTR students who are currently enrolled in OT graduate programs at other institutions may be included in the program if space permits.
Registration deadline: March 1, 2008. The program is limited to six students. Students will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Activities and excursions:
Five days of exceptional instruction with top faculty
Core topics include:
- Philosophical Assumptions of the Canadian Perspective
- The Canadian Model of Occupational Performance
- Change Agency
- The Person-Environment-Occupational Model
- Personal Resources, Barriers and Adaptation
- Demands of Occupation and Occupational Adaptation
- Ecological Perspectives of Occupational Performance
- The Meaning of Client-centered practice
- Implementation of Client-centered practice
- Canadian Society, Culture, History and Healthcare
 Facility visits
Excursions:
- Double-decker bus tour of London
- Pioneer Village
- Museum London
- Museum of Ontario Archeology and Lawson Prehistoric Iroquoian Village
- Shakespearean play in Stratford
Three-day trip to Toronto
- CN Tower, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Ontario Museum, Casa Loma, the Ontario Science Centre, the Toronto Zoo, take an Inner-Harbor Cruise on Lake Ontario, and attend a Second City comedy show.
Accommodations and meals: Participants will be housed in the University of Western Ontario Bed and Breakfast. Students will have their own private bedroom, but will share the suite with three other participants. Each furnished suite features four bedrooms; two bathrooms, a common area as well as kitchenette with stove top, microwave and refrigerator. The floor plan can be viewed at www.has.uwo.ca/hospitality/bedandbreakfast/index.htm.
Students are responsible for lunch and dinners in London and for all meals during the optional excursions to Toronto.
Program director: The program will be led by Dr. Dianne Simons, who has taught in the VCU OT department for 12 years, holds a master’s degree in occupational therapy from VCU and a Ph.D. in Instructional Technology from the University of Virginia. Simons teaches entry-level and post-professional courses in OT theory and qualitative research and entry-level courses in practice activities, psychosocial evaluation and treatment. She has a strong interest in client-centered practice. She is currently completing the analysis of a qualitative research project that explored client-centered practice among clinicians in the Richmond and surrounding area.
Every effort is made to provide updated and accurate information at the time of publication. The sponsors reserve the right to make necessary changes to the programs and costs.
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