Eleanor Clarke Slagle (October 13, 1870–September 18, 1942) was an American social worker and an early pioneer of

occupational therapy Occupational therapy (OT) is a global healthcare profession. It involves the use of assessment and intervention to develop, recover, or maintain the meaningful activities, or ''occupations'', of individuals, groups, or communities. The field o ...

Early life

Born in

Hobart, New York Hobart is a village in Delaware County, New York, United States. The population was 441 at the 2010 census. The village is in the town of Stamford and is on New York Route 10 in the northeastern part of the county. History The village of Hobart ...

, she was the only daughter of William John Clark and Emeline (Emmaline) J. (née Davenport) Clark. During her youth she went by the name Ella May Clark. Her father fought as an officer in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

and may have been left partially disabled by a neck wound. In 1894, she married Robert E. Slagle.

Career

There is little record of what follows, up until she began studying at the UC Chicago School for Civics and Philanthropy in 1911. Thereafter she was employed in state hospitals of Michigan and New York. It was while visiting at the

Kankakee State Hospital Samuel H. Shapiro Developmental Center, formerly named the Kankakee State Hospital, is a developmental center in Kankakee, Illinois, on the banks of the Kankakee River. History In 1877, the General Assembly established the Illinois Eastern Hospit ...

in Illinois that she became inspired to work in

. In 1912, she became director of a department of occupational therapy at the Phipps Clinic under the direction of Dr. Adolf Meyer. In 1914 she resigned and returned to Chicago, where she gave lectures at the Chicago School for Civics and Philanthropy. In 1917, she became general superintendent of occupational therapy for all of the Illinois state hospitals. The same year the training school she started was named the Henry B. Favill School of Occupations which continued until 1920. Until March 1917, occupational therapy was not organized as a profession. This changed with the formation of the National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy that year, for which she was a founding member. During the third annual meeting of the National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy, she was elected president. For many years thereafter she served as the volunteer secretary-treasurer of the organization. In 1922, she established the headquarters of the

American Occupational Therapy Association The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) is the national professional association established in 1917 to represent the interests and concerns of occupational therapy practitioners and students and improve the quality of occupational t ...

in New York City and worked tirelessly to promote educational and professional standards for the emerging profession . For the next twenty years, she also served as occupational therapy director at the New York State Department of Mental Hygiene.

Death

She died in Philipse Manor, New York and is buried at Locust Hill Cemetery in Hobart, New York.

Honors and awards

The Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship, considered the highest academic award of the American Occupational Therapy Association, is named in her honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slagle, Eleanor Clarke 1871 births 1942 deaths Occupational therapists People from Chicago Activists from New York City People from Hobart, New York University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration alumni New York State Department of Mental Hygiene