A Reflection on the Eleanor Clark Slagle Lecture by Gilfoyle

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The Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship is an award which serves as a memorial of Eleanor Clarke Slagle, who is considered the mother of occupational therapy due to her contributions to the development of the profession (Lancaster, 2023). In 1984, the Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship was given to Elnora M. Gilfoyle, DSc, OTR, FAOTA. Elnoa M. Gilfoyle is known for addressing child abuse (2022). She also was the founder of Kennedy Foundation center for children with developmental disabilities (2022). Due to this, along with many other factors, she was chosen for the Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship and gave a lecture titled “Transformation of a Profession”. 

During the time in which Elnoa M. Gilfoyle gave her lecture,the most recent legislation that impacted the profession of occupational therapy that was passed was the “Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975” (Lancaster, 2023). This legislation allowed for all children with disabilities to go to school. During Gilfoyle’s lecture, she addresses how the occupational therapy profession must prepare itself for educational readjustments stemming from this legislation and preluding to other legislation to come (Gilfoyle, 1984). During this time, the feminist movement was also prevalent and the impacts of the feminist movement were in place. Elnoa, M. Gilfoyle also addresses this movement in her lecture. 

I chose this speaker due to her passion for the education system and working with children. I feel that I can relate to Elnoa M. Gilfoyle because I also have a passion for working with children. 

In Elnoa M. Gilfoyle’s lecture, she talks about the word Occupational and how the profession needs to focus on the “action” and “doing” part of the word (Gilfoyle, 1984). By focusing on the occupational aspect of occupational therapy, the profession will have a clearer purpose. 

I feel that Elnoa M. Gilfoyle lectured about the transformation of the occupational profession because of how prevalent transformation is in this particular profession (Gilfoyle, 1984). One thing I took away from this lecture is that the occupational therapy profession is always adapting and changing. Due to the constant changes, we, as occupational therapists, must be able to keep up with the changes and integrate them into our day to day work. 


Resources

The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. (2022). 100 influential people in occupational therapy: Elnora M. Gilfoyle, DSC, OTR, Faota. 100 Influential People in Occupational Therapy: Elnora M. Gilfoyle, DSc, OTR, FAOTA. Retrieved January 19, 2023, from http://www.otcentennial.org/the-100-people/gilfoyle 

Gilfoyle, E. M. (1984, September 1). Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship, 1984: Transformation of a profession. American Occupational Therapy Association. Retrieved January 19, 2023, from https://research.aota.org/ajot/article/38/9/575/1131/Eleanor-Clarke-Slagle-Lectureship-1984 


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