Strengthening Partnerships to Elevate Awareness of Occupational Therapy
Over the past year, the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) has deepened its collaboration with the Family Caregivers division and other departments of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) to raise public awareness of the essential role occupational therapy (OT) plays in promoting holistic health and well-being—for both individuals receiving care and their family caregivers. This partnership reflects a shared commitment to equipping people with resources that foster safety, participation, and engagement in meaningful life roles.
AOTA staff and members have contributed expert insights to articles and podcasts featured on AARP’s widely accessed member platform. These resources demonstrate how OT addresses everyday challenges, from aging in place to managing chronic conditions, ensuring millions of readers gain practical strategies to enhance independence and quality of life. Through the CarFit program, AOTA and AARP are working together to help older adults maintain comfort and safety while driving.
Occupational therapy practitioners play a vital role in CarFit events, providing tailored recommendations that promote safe, independent mobility and help minimize risk. AOTA also hosts CarFit certification programs annually at its INSPIRE conference, reinforcing practitioner expertise in this area. To further strengthen OT practitioners’ ability to integrate caregivers into client-centered interventions, and to navigate reimbursement successfully, AOTA and AARP launched a two-part online seminar series.
The first session, held on November 6, 2025, focused on strategies for caregiver inclusion in therapy planning. The second session, scheduled for December 2, 2025, will address documentation and billing best practices. Most recently, AOTA participated in a state-level Caregiving Summit organized by AARP Arkansas, where AOTA staff presented to an audience of 150 caregivers on the value of occupational therapy and its role in supporting caregiving. OT resources provided by AOTA were widely regarded as essential, reflecting strong interest among caregivers in accessing OT services for their loved ones.
While collaboration with strategic partners can require significant coordination and nurturing, it demonstrates how partnerships like these can amplify public awareness of occupational therapy and its impact on everyday life. By working with organizations like AARP, AOTA continues to advance its mission of promoting OT as an essential service for health, independence, and well-being across the lifespan.
AOTA-Accredited Fellowship Programs: Earn, Learn, and Specialize
AOTA Accredited Fellowship Programs offer a unique opportunity for occupational therapists, new and experienced, to elevate their clinical practice by advancing their career in specialized areas of OT.
Here are three (3) ways AOTA-accredited fellowship programs support the occupational therapy community:
• Earn & learn: Gain specialized, hands-on skills while earning an income.
• Professional connections: Join a distinguished network of expert practitioners and lifelong learners.
• Career acceleration: AOTA Fellowship Program experience can elevate professional profiles and unlock new job opportunities.
Discover how AOTA-accredited fellowships can help fellows thrive here.
Questions? Send them to [email protected] and the AOTA Fellowship Program Team will be happy to answer them!
AOTA Contributes to National TBI Care Guidelines
The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) participated in a significant national effort to improve traumatic brain injury care. The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) TBI Action Collaborative recently published the Action Collaborative on Traumatic Brain Injury Care: Adapted Clinical Practice Guideline.
This comprehensive guideline utilized the ADAPTE methodology to review and synthesize practice guidelines from multiple professions. AOTA's 2023 TBI Practice Guidelines were among the foundational documents reviewed and incorporated into the collaborative's recommendations. These guidelines provide evidence-based clinical recommendations supporting interventions that address impairments and improve occupational performance for people with TBI.
AOTA's guidelines are informed by systematic review of 62 articles and recommend strong to moderate evidence-based interventions including multimodal sensory stimulation, physical activity, virtual reality, cognitive interventions, vision therapy, goal-focused interventions, and caregiver support. These evidence-based recommendations were an important part of informing the NASEM collaborative's adapted guideline.
Additionally, AOTA served as an external reviewer for the NASEM project, ensuring the final guidelines reflect best practices in occupational therapy and interdisciplinary TBI care. This collaboration represents an important step forward in establishing profession-spanning standards for traumatic brain injury treatment and underscores occupational therapy's vital role in TBI care.
Get ready to be refreshed, recharged, and INSPIRED!
AOTA invites our international colleagues who are not AOTA members to register for INSPIRE 2026: Annual Conference and Expo at a special discounted rate. Join us in Anaheim, California, April 23-25, 2026.
Email [email protected] to obtain your discount code or read more here for additional registration options and visa letter information.
AOTA and WFOT Podcast
Enjoy a special podcast with WFOT President, Sam Shann, AOTA WFOT Delegate Dr. Ginny Stoffel, and WFOT Alternate Delegate Dr. Douglene Jackson. Listen to the podcast here.
AOTA Clinical Topics Webpage
Have you checked out AOTA's Clinical Topics webpage recently? Discover a list of curated AOTA resources related to various clinical topics such as stroke, sleep, and musculoskeletal conditions.
AOTA Podcast: Occupational Therapy in Rural and Underserved Communities
In this episode of AOTA Podcasts, We explore the unique challenges and inspiring opportunities for occupational therapy practitioners serving rural and underserved communities. Guests, Kalyn Briggs, PhD, OTR/L, CLA and Tim Dionne, PhD, OTR/L, share real-world experiences, highlight innovative models of care, and discuss how OTPs can bridge gaps in access to health services. Listeners will learn about key resources, advocacy efforts, and opportunities to build professional networks that support rural practice.
AOTA's Occupational Profile Template
Completing the Occupational Profile consistently helps to demonstrate a commitment to quality OT services, the distinct value of OT to other providers and payers, and respect for clients as collaborators in their own care.
Improve your evaluations, intervention plans, and documentation. A template designed for you to use in any practice setting—print it and complete it by hand, type text directly into the document, or include it in an electronic health record (EHR).
About the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)
AOTA represents over 244,500 occupational therapists (OT), occupational therapy assistants (OTA), and students in the United States and beyond, aiming to advance occupational therapy practice, education, and research.
Our mission is to advance occupational therapy practice, education, and research through standard setting and advocacy on behalf of its members, the profession, and the public.
Please visit us at www.aota.org or contact Melissa Tilton, OTA, MS, COTA, ROH, our Director of Governance and International Staff Liaison, at [email protected] or [email protected]. We look forward to connecting!