• Career Journey

What first inspired you to pursue a career in occupational therapy, and how did your early experiences in practice shape your professional identity?

"I never set out to be an Occupational Therapist but more stumbled across it when I was investigating a career in Physiotherapy.  My background was sports coaching and development and I had undertaken a degree in Sport Studies. I had always enjoyed working and developing young people, adults and services within my early work roles, but I felt I had more to offer and wanted to provide support for those that needed it the most. When I found out about Occupational Therapy the biopsychosocial factors, focus on function as opposed to generic movement and how the environment can influence engagement in activity really appealed to me. It really resonated with my own ideologies about ways to potentially support people, so I was sold, sorry Physios!

I chose to become an OT because I genuinely wanted to make a meaningful difference to people’s lives and contribute to the growth of this remarkable profession. One early experience that has stayed with me involved supporting a young man living with a hemiplegia. Despite his talents at school and his independence with self-care, he faced some tough challenges—he couldn’t join his friends cycling, held back by difficulties with balance, gross motor skills, and grip strength. This wasn’t just about missing out on a activity; it meant he was unable to engage in something deeply meaningful to him, which led to feelings of isolation and took a toll on his mental health.

We worked together closely, looking for ways to overcome his physical challenges by adapting his environment, rather than expecting him to adapt to it. I still remember sourcing an old trike from a loan equipment store, which had a fixed gear to accommodate his unique way of moving. With the help of a skilled technician, we added hand and pelvic supports, and the trike’s three wheels provided the stability he needed. It wasn’t the nicest or most perfectly sized, but our aim was simple: to enable him to experience the joy of cycling alongside his friends, just like any other young person would hope to do.

I’ll never forget the moment he first tried the adapted trike. He shot off, beaming and shouting, ‘I’m doing it, I’m doing it!’ The look of pure delight on his face said it all. For him, it wasn’t about what the trike looked like—it was about being able to join in, to feel included and capable. Witnessing that transformation was incredibly moving, and it brought home to me the profound impact occupational therapists can have, not just by facilitating participation in meaningful activities, but by fostering a sense of belonging and hope.

Later, I was able to support him through a specialist assessment and help secure funding for a bespoke trike, thanks to the generosity of The Sunshine Fund, a wonderful North East children’s charity. With his new trike, he was able to spend his free time cycling with his friends, embracing social inclusion and experiencing a real boost in his well-being. For me, this example of my practice truly captured the spirit of occupational therapy: using our unique perspectives and skills to break down barriers, so that everyone has the opportunity to live the life they want and deserve."

• Path to the Current Role

Can you talk us through the journey that led you to your current position, and what motivated the move into this area of practice?

"My career pathway took me from community children’s services within the NHS to acute adult health within multiple disciplines and specialities, I remember thinking at the time it was important to experience different areas to get a good grounding for my future practice, this has served me well later in my career. I then worked within the education and social care sectors with young people and young adults, it is then when I discovered powerchair football. A lot of the people I worked with were powered wheelchair users. When I worked alongside them, I noticed that a common theme was a lack of accessible activities for leisure and social engagement. Within OT a balance of occupations is vital to promote positive health and well-being outcomes, so a lack of opportunity for engagement in this area was therefore having adverse impacts on their well-being. I was observing at first hand how a lack of engagement within the leisure domain for people was affecting their confidence, self-esteem, self-identify, and I was always a big believer in the need to address this for our disabled and disadvantaged groups. When I was introduced to powerchair football I could see the difference this sport made to participants, the sense of belonging, engaging with a meaningful activity and the positivity it brought into their lives. I just had to become involved as this related to my own ideals and beliefs about removing barriers to leisure activities and enhancing the lives of others, this is when undertook the training to become a classifier for the sport."

• Role Overview

For those who may be unfamiliar, how would you describe your current role and its core responsibilities?

"As a classifier I apply a classification system within the sport of powerchair football to enable fairness and equality, so that people with more limited functional ability are not disadvantaged from accessing the sport by people that are more able bodied. The aim of the sport is to provide access to those disabled/disadvantaged groups that do not have the functional ability to play any other sport. Athletes undertake a classification following the classification system applied by a panel of classifiers, to determine their level of functional ability, they are then provided with a classification rating to determine their ability level and eligibility to play the sport."

• OT Title vs. Non-OT Position

Does your role formally require an occupational therapy qualification or professional registration, or is it a non-OT role where you draw on your OT background?

"The role of a classifier is split into two categories a medical classifier, sports/technical classifier, there is also a dual classifier that covers both areas. A medical classifier requires a qualification to degree level within occupational therapy, physiotherapy or nursing. A sports classifier requires a professional qualification within sports or coaching. As I have relevant qualifications and experience in both areas I undertake the role of a dual classifier, so I can do both roles of the classification. However, within a classification you can only be responsible for one aspect, medical or sports, to ensure fairness and limit any bias, there must be at least two separate panel members that complete the medical and technical sides."

• Value of OT Skills

Which specific occupational therapy skills, frameworks, or approaches do you find yourself using most frequently in this role?

"The interesting thing about the role of the classifier is that it draws upon so many core skills of the OT, you are assessing functional ability, using therapeutic use of self-during interactions, using activity analysis, risk assessing safety. Subsequently through the classification system we are enabling access to leisure occupations and removing barriers to social inclusion which is what OT encompasses, so the OT core skills and values can be applied very well to the role of the classifier."

• Transferability of OT Thinking

In what ways does the OT lens—its focus on function, occupation, and person–environment fit—help you approach challenges differently from other professionals?

"I may have touched on this already but the ability to identify barriers to social inclusion, enable access to activity within the leisure domain, use client centred practice, all contribute to positive health and well-being outcomes for our players/participants. As OT’s we are always searching for ways to enhance the lives of others or enable them to achieve their goals in life, I see powerchair football as a useful resource to enable our clients with functional limitations to be socially included in sports and leisure activities. The lens of the OT definitely helps me to understand how the role of the classifier contributes to the bigger picture of enhancing the lives of others. This can easily be linked and explained through a model of practice, I went into more detail about these links in my presentation."

• Impact and Effectiveness

Can you share an example of how your OT training has allowed you to have a unique impact or achieve a positive outcome in your current work?

"My knowledge and understanding gained through my OT practice including application of functional assessments, activity analysis, therapeutic use of self, and putting the person at the centre of what we do all support me within the role to make an impact at individual, organisational and cultural levels within powerchair football. Training provision and sharing my skills with others has enabled development of the sport and quality of implementation of classification across the world. I have attended many places including Europe, South America and Australia to support the development of the sport through the classification system. The sport is now reaching further globally with more nations joining, our ultimate aim is to have the sport within the Paralympic games, we hope to achieve this goal in the future."

• Interprofessional Collaboration

How do colleagues from other disciplines respond to the OT perspective you bring, and where do you see it adding the most value?

"I really enjoy working with other disciplines and people from different countries that all bring a unique perspective on powerchair football and classification. I have learnt so much from the valuable opportunities that I have had to work with others from diverse cultures and backgrounds across different professions and organisations. I am grateful to have built up the knowledge and expertise to be able to support fellow classifiers around the world, we all have the same objective in mind, to enhance opportunities for engagement within powerchair football and subsequently leisure activities for people that have limited opportunities to do so due to their limiting conditions."

• Professional Identity

Has working in this role changed how you see yourself as an occupational therapist, and if so, in what way?

"The significant time spent within the role has really opened my eyes to how OT’s can effect health and well-being across the globe, both inside and outside of powerchair football. Working within diverse cultural locations has helped me to understand the impacts of social deprivation and how has OT’s we are ideally placed to positively affect the lives of others, through providing opportunities to access and engage in meaningful activity."

• Future of Contemporary OT Roles

What do you think your career path says about the evolving scope of occupational therapy, and what advice would you give to OTs exploring non-traditional or emerging roles?

"I think it is important to have a good grounding and understanding of Occupational Therapy, this is especially important for role-emerging or non-traditional roles. We need to ensure that the values, ethos and application of OT is not lost or watered down as this can negatively impact the effectiveness and quality of OT provision for individuals and services. Having the right support in these roles for new or inexperienced therapists is critical to shape their understanding of the profession, whilst ensuring the essence and life enhancing impact that OT can have on the lives of others is fully utilised. The role that I undertake highlights how the skills of the OT can be applied to non-traditional settings to contribute to the health and well-being of others. Being able to understand and explain these links and the value of OT is critical for the profession’s identity and understanding for commissioners and stakeholders, so we can have more OT’s placed into roles where they are needed to positively impact the lives others."