How Did Occupational Therapy Come About?

I was able to answer many common questions that I had or didn’t even know that I had. One being; when did this job actually come about and who noticed the need for it? I was able to conclude that In the 1700's, during the "Age of Enlightenment", Occupational Therapy began to emerge. It was during this period that revolutionary ideas were evolving regarding the "infirmed" and mentally ill. At that time in history, the mentally ill were treated like prisoners; locked up and considered to be a danger to society. It wasn't until two gentlemen; Phillipe Pinel (a French physician, philosopher, and scholar) and William Tuke (an English Quaker) started to challenge society's beliefs about the mentally ill; that a new understanding, philosophy and treatment would emerge, which is now known as occupational therapy (The History of Occupational Therapy).