TY - JOUR
T1 - Finding Our Strengths
T2 - Recognizing Professional Bias and Interrogating Systems
AU - Patten, Kristie K.
N1 - Funding Information:
I thank Drs. Dunn and Pfeiffer and Dr. Moya Kinnealey, who nominated me for this award, and the faculty, students, and alumni from the NYU OT family. A special thank you goes to my PhD students, whose ideas and work have pushed this work and our strengths-based lens powerfully forward. To my family, and specifically my sons, Thomas and James, you have always been there, believing in a working mom with a passion and never letting me think I got the work–mom balance wrong, even when I did. To my mother, Joyce Patten, who is here, I learned firsthand and early what happens when you look for the good in everyone, the strengths in all. And last, because I want you to remember the last thing I said, with profound thanks, I want to thank every self-advocate I have worked with over the years. Stephen, Paul, Lauren, Grant, Becca, William, Lawrence, Lydia, Dena, Damian, Jesse, Max, Bill, Robyn, Amy, Morenike, Julia, Shira, and so many more. It is you who are my best teachers; my colleagues; and, several of you, my dear friends. You have taught me to Be Curious, Be Wrong, and Be Better.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. All rights reserved.
PY - 2022/11
Y1 - 2022/11
N2 - No one builds their lives on remediated weaknesses. No one. Who does a deficits-based approach benefit? Those we serve, or the professional community? Do our current models of practice support flourishing? Our professional biases make it hard for us to see not only how our practice may be getting it wrong today but is also perpetuating systems that prevent us from getting it right tomorrow. A paradigm shift to a strengths-based model that interrogates the educational, research, and practice systems we work in is proposed. It is a shift that we must see, speak, and act on. Our vulnerability and willingness to rethink is our strength, which will meet the changing needs of society. This lecture will draw on literature from positive psychology, disability justice, well-being, and research that centers the voice of self-advocates.
AB - No one builds their lives on remediated weaknesses. No one. Who does a deficits-based approach benefit? Those we serve, or the professional community? Do our current models of practice support flourishing? Our professional biases make it hard for us to see not only how our practice may be getting it wrong today but is also perpetuating systems that prevent us from getting it right tomorrow. A paradigm shift to a strengths-based model that interrogates the educational, research, and practice systems we work in is proposed. It is a shift that we must see, speak, and act on. Our vulnerability and willingness to rethink is our strength, which will meet the changing needs of society. This lecture will draw on literature from positive psychology, disability justice, well-being, and research that centers the voice of self-advocates.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85148733438&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85148733438&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5014/ajot.2022.076603
DO - 10.5014/ajot.2022.076603
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85148733438
SN - 0272-9490
VL - 76
JO - American Journal of Occupational Therapy
JF - American Journal of Occupational Therapy
IS - 6
M1 - 7606150010
ER -