Why I Became an Occupational Therapist
The real story behind Functional Independence
When I was 13, I was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis. Life became very difficult and very hard, and nobody really understood what that meant including, for a long time, me.
The things people take for granted, getting out of bed in the morning, putting on socks and shoes, opening my school bag, getting on and off the school bus, were all genuinely difficult tasks. Even holding a pen and writing in school was a struggle. This was long before laptops, computers, or even mobile phones existed to help. I muddled through and found my own ways to cope, but it was a hard, and it made it complicated and exhausting getting through each day.
If only I had been referred to an Occupational Therapist.
When I was starting to think about long term career options, and getting ready to leave school, my mum suggested I consider becoming an occupational therapist.
I looked at her and thought, I didn't even know what one was!.
And then something changed...
The hospital visit that changed everything
I was admitted to the homeopathic hospital in Glasgow, and at the time, I was 16, which, for anyone who's been there knows it can be an awkward age to be and manage as a parent. I didn't really want to be there. I was far from home, I couldn't have friends visit, and it was my mum and my brother who came to see me, while my sister was already away at university.
One day, a woman came to see me and asked, quite simply, "Do you want to play a game of Connect 4?"
Really??.
I didn't say anything, I was too polite for that, but I remember thinking she must have thought I was far younger than I really was. Afterwards, I told my mum about this woman who'd shown up, hadn't even properly introduced herself, and wanted to play a children's game with me.
My mum told me she was an occupational therapist.
And something just clicked. "Oh, wow," I thought. "Well, that's what I'm going to do for a job. I'm going to be an occupational therapist — and I'm going to be better than her. I'm going to explain what I do. And I'm always going to ask what's actually important to the person."
Thirty years later...
That moment has stayed with me , and it's still the job I do today.
It's one of the reasons why I created Functional Independence — because I know, from the inside, just how much the small, seemingly insignificant tasks matter. Getting dressed. Managing a school bag. Holding a pen. These aren't trivial details to dismiss, they're the building blocks of independence, dignity, and confidence, especially when nobody around you quite understands why they've become so hard.
I want to help as many people as I can with exactly these small but enormously important things — because I know first hand how much they matter, and because once upon a time, nobody quite knew how to help me with mine.
Best Wishes,
Morven
Morven McLelland, DipCOT SROT / PG Cert / HCPC Registered
Functional Independence — Practical occupational therapy support for everyday life.