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

occupational therapy Occupational therapy (OT), also known as ergotherapy, is a healthcare profession. Ergotherapy is derived from the Greek wiktionary:ergon, ergon which is allied to work, to act and to be active. Occupational therapy is based on the assumption t ...

Early life

Born in Hobart, New York, 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, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

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 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. Slagle established a workroom for handicapped people at

Hull House Hull House was a settlement house in Chicago, Illinois, that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located on the Near West Side of Chicago, Hull House, named after the original house's first owner Charles Jerald Hul ...

. 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 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 ...

(NSPOT) that year, for which she was a founding member. During the third annual meeting of the NSPOT, she was elected president. For many years thereafter she served as the volunteer secretary-treasurer of the organization. NSPOT was renamed the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) in 1921. In 1922, she established the headquarters of AOTA 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 The New York State Department of Mental Hygiene is a pro forma department of the New York state government and may refer to one of several autonomous agencies: *the Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) *the Office of Mental Heal ...

. In 1937, she retired from her position of leadership at the AOTA, with First Lady

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

in attendance at her farewell lunch.

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 AOTA, is named in her honor. Slagle is listed in the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc 100 influential people.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slagle, Eleanor Clarke 1870 births 1942 deaths Occupational therapists Health professionals 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