Ann Wilcock Collection: Celebrating her legacy

Abstract

In autumn 2019 the international occupational therapy community was saddened to hear of the death of Ann Wilcock in Australia, her home for more than 50 years. In recognition of Wilcock's significant contribution to occupational therapy and occupational science worldwide, and in celebration of her roots in, and connections to, the United Kingdom, the British Journal of Occupational Therapy is proud to present a curated collection of articles published in the journal. The collection contains articles authored by Wilcock herself, as well as articles about her work or influenced by it. Together, they celebrate her lasting and ongoing legacy. The articles can

Adult children’s experiences of family occupations following ageing parents’ functional decline

“…An important finding in this study elucidates the relation between being and doing in the family occupations. Being and doing are concepts elaborated in the fields of occupational science and occupational therapy (Craik, 2020;Hitch et al, 2014;Hocking, 2020;Wilcock & Hocking, 2015). According to Hitch et al (2014), "doing is often characterized as being 'active', a visible quality that is recognizable to observers.…”

Occupational engagement: some assumptions to inform occupational therapy

“…Although some scholars attribute the concept of occupational engagement to the renowned occupational therapist and scientist Ann Wilcock (1940Wilcock ( -2019 (see Craik, 2020;Black et al, 2019;Firby & Raine, 2022), this concept first appeared in the work of Elizabeth Yerxa, who in 1980 published a seminal article titled "Occupational therapy's role in creating a future climate of caring," where she proposed engagement in occupation as a fundamental premise of the emerging discipline of occupational science: Engagement in occupation encompasses not only the observable performance of individuals, but also their subjective reactions to the activity and objects with which they are occupied (Yerxa, 1980, p. 534). In Yerxa's paper, she used the phrase "engagement in occupation" intentionally to extend her ideas beyond "observable performance" (although still including performance) and to present a new concept that is now conceptualized as "occupational engagement."…”