Stitches Through Time: Occupational Therapy
- Suzanne Lawrence

Porfolio Sample 1

“How does the allegory of a quilt and quilt making fit with this practice platform and the guiding practice model? … If one thinks about the parts of a quilt … the person is represented by the batting material surrounded by the person’s environment, the quilt top and backing. The quilting threads, which join these elements together, are representative of occupation. Occupational performance, that place where the person environment and occupation overlap, can be represented by the areas where the thread has actually pierced the fabrics and the threads come in contact with all of the layers.

The allegory does not end here. This quilt, just as others that were used to record family histories or as a secret code to aid slaves to escape to freedom, is a symbolic representation of an evolving practice platform. Consider the quilt top (Figure 1). The appliquéd umbrella represents … the overall guiding theory. Under the umbrella, quilted into the fabric, are the acronyms of several treatment or intervention theories, which one might use in the individual, client- centered, collaborative effort to maximize occupational performance for the client. The three traditional quilt blocks represent the three Performance Areas … The Log Cabin traditionally has a red center block to illustrate the hearth of the home, however in this allegory the red fabric in all of the blocks represents the client.

• The Log Cabin represents the performance area of Activities of Daily Living (ADL’s).
• The Monkey Wrench block represents the performance area of Work and Productive Activities.
• The final block, Trip Around the World, represents the Play and Leisure Activities performance area.
• Under these blocks are buttons and charms, which represent the various activities from each performance area. These activities not only fall under these performance areas, but can also be used as therapeutic activities.