Mary Reilly's Impact On The World Of Occupational Therapy

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Mary Reilly was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1916. Her childhood dream was to become a teacher or perhaps study medicine. At the age of 21, Reilly started her schooling at the Boston School of Occupational Therapy, and ultimately begin her everlasting impact to the world of occupational therapy. By 1940 she received her certificate in Occupational Therapy and began her career at the Sigma Gamma Hospital School in Detroit, Michigan. In the 1950s, after serving as a captain in the United States Army Medical Specialists, Reilly enrolled in both the University of Southern California and UCLA. After receiving her Ph.D. in education, Reilly received the title of Chief of Rehabilitation at the Neuropsychiatric Institute at UCLA. In the course of the following decades, Reilly would have an influence on both the education and practice framework of occupational therapy. After receiving her famous Eleanor Clarke Lecture in 1961, she ultimately retired from USC in 1978 and was named an Emeritus Professor. Mary Reilly died on February 28, 2012, at the age of 95; however …show more content…

According to the 2010 AOTA Workforce Trend, twenty-two percent of occupational therapy takes place in schools of which the majorities are young children (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2010).This being said, Reilly and other late 20th century scholars, reclaimed play and leisure as a scientific and technical method of implementing therapy to clients, specifically young children and pediatrics (Boyt Schell, Gillen, & Scaffa, 2014). Reilly suggested that there are three hierarchical levels and stages of play in order for a child to achieve feelings of mastery: exploration, competency, and achievement. Ultimately, therapy introduced through play that a child had interest in, would achieve a high level of productivity (Askins, Diasio, Szewerniak, & Cahill,

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