title: Coming Home to Family: Now Is the Time!
abstract: Family is a metaphor for the connectedness that occupational therapy practitioners and students feel for one another, for the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), and toward those served. Exploring values and cultural practices that emanate from family experiences affects how we practice occupational therapy and engage with families; how we serve and lead; and how, as the profession approaches its 100th anniversary in the United States, we strengthen AOTA by welcoming all 213,000 practitioners and students who could become active, engaged members. The heartfelt connections experienced across our worldwide occupational therapy communities, giving support and nurturance to those who show promise, breaking down barriers and creating community as extended family, creating a sense of home and belonging, encouraging participation, and building excellence, strengthen the AOTA family. AOTA Vision 2025 serves as a means to facilitate the profession's future, where health, well-being, and quality of life are the outcomes of effective occupational therapy.
authors: Virginia (Ginny) Stoffel, PhD, OT, BCMH, FAOTA, is Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Science and Technology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; stoffelv@uwm.edu.
authors: Virginia Ginny
authors: VG
authors: Stoffel
mesh_terms: D006040:Goals; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015279:Organizational Culture; D012958:Societies, Scientific / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States