Thelma: A Happy Modern Woman

This interpretive biography of the author’s mother Thelma Boyd Johnson (1913-2001) charts various critical points in her life, from its beginning on a farm in central Indiana to an urban life of motherhood, a career in banking, and her passions for reading and family.

‘You are the music while the music lasts’: Kwame Tua between the Asante and the British

This article is an interpretive biography of Kwame Tua (c.1865–1950), one of millions of Africans born into an independent society that was overtaken by colonial conquest and overrule. Kwame Tua was from Asante, now in the republic of Ghana, and held the ascriptive status of a royal servant (ahenkwaa) who might have expected a specialist career as a royal hornblower. He was musically very gifted. However, after ruinous civil wars in the 1880s, the Asante king was sent into exile in 1896, and from 1901 to 1957 his kingdom was a British Crown Colony. This article discusses Kwame Tua's responses to these radically altered circumstances and his efforts to forge a place and identity for himself between the new imperial order and his Asante inheritance. It is argued throughout that the pursuit of detail is all in such a study so that we can get as close as possible to the personality of the individual in interaction with the times he lived through.

Thomas Bessell Kidner and the Development of Occupational Therapy in the United Kingdom: Establishing the Links

This historical research describes the life and work of Thomas Bessell Kidner (1866-1932). The purpose of the article is threefold: to describe Kidner's British heritage, to suggest how Kidner's background may have influenced his contributions to the early development of the profession, and to examine how Kidner's contributions have influenced practice. Using methods appropriate to interpretive biography, primary and secondary source materials have been gathered and analysed relating to Kidner's education and early work experiences in England; his work in Canada, teaching manual training and as Vocational Secretary during the First World War; and his time in the United States, with particular reference to his role with the American Occupational Therapy Association. The analysis suggests that Kidner brought the ideology of educational reform, as manifested in manual training, into occupational therapy and that this work provided a foundation for his approach to the treatment of injured soldiers. Kidner's efforts to help the profession to survive and expand after the war, with the consequent alignment with medicine, are also highlighted. His contact with the profession and with key individuals, such as Elizabeth Casson, in the United Kingdom is also explored. Finally, Kidner's contributions are considered in the light of how the profession might have developed had circumstances been different.

Helen Primrose LeVesconte: Occupational Therapy Clinician, Educator, and Maker of History

Background. The Canadian history of our profession is not well known and our identity is thought to suffer as a result. Helen Primrose LeVesconte (1896–1982) is one pioneer in our development whose story has not been told. Purpose. Our purpose is to explore LeVesconte's life and work in order to expand knowledge of our roots and thereby strengthen our identity. Method. Using interpretive biography methods we draw on LeVesconte's own writings, articles written about her, and archival documents to describe turning point moments in her life and to display meaningful patterns in her work. Results. LeVesconte's work as a clinician and her role and reputation as an educator, show her to have been a strong and visionary leader. Her views on the client's role, the importance of the therapist-client relationship, prevention, community-based programs, and vocational rehabilitation are of particular interest. Practice Implications. Because LeVesconte educated over 1,850 students while director of the occupational therapy program at the University of Toronto, her influence has been felt throughout the country. Her perspective is compared to current practice; and questions are raised as to aspects of her legacy and philosophy that might now be reconsidered.