This style guide assists the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT) with maintaining a consistent style in our English publications and presentations.  Whether you are writing for the Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, Occupational Therapy Now, or a CAOT publication, or you are presenting a CAOT professional development activity or conference presentation, we offer the following as a guide:

For Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy (CJOT) and Occupational Therapy Now:

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh edition (APA 7) is the primary resource for submitting articles and manuscripts for CAOT publications.  APA referencing format is considered a publishing standard and is mandatory for CJOT and Occupational Therapy Now submissions.

Refer to the CJOT author guidelines document and  the Occupational Therapy Now author guidelines document for more information.

For CAOT workshop and webinar presenters:

PowerPoint presentations, handouts, promotional materials and other publications often use bullet point content, lists and photographs.  For a shorter, convenient style reference, CAOT recommends using the CIHR English Style Guide, produced by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), for titles, capitalization, running text, spelling and punctuation. 

General style guidelines:

  • Cite references: Do not plagiarize. Acknowledge someone else’s ideas by citing the original source with an in-text citation in the author-date format (rather than a foot or endnote) and the full reference in a reference list. This applies when:
    • Quoting verbatim from a source
    • Paraphrasing or summarizing ideas found in a source
    • Introducing facts found in a source
    • Introducing information that is not common knowledge
    • Building on another person’s method
    • Borrowing a structure or framework
    • Citing assessments
    • Crediting image/video sources
    • Relating information from personal communications such as email

The Purdue Online Writing Lab: APA Style is a convenient guide to many common situations and questions regarding APA style referencing.

  • Respect copyrights. All content authors, contributors and presenters are responsible for (1) obtaining all necessary permissions for the use of any textual, illustrative or other materials of any source and (2) demonstrating that permission has been obtained next to the copyrighted materials (e.g., “Used with permission.”). This includes the use of pictures, photographs, and figures. For CAOT-copyrighted figures, please follow CAOT Copyright Policies and contact publications@caot.ca for additional information.
  • Use Canadian spelling. Use Canadian spelling in articles, presentations and handouts.  The CIHR English Style Guide provides several examples, including:
    • ‘re’ spelling in words such as client-centred
    • ‘u’ within words such as behaviour, colour,
    • aging (not ageing)
    • analyze, organize (not analyse, organise)
    • counselling (not counseling)
    • focused, focusing (not focussed, focussing)
    • pediatrics (not paediatrics)
    • per cent (two words)
    • program (not programme)
    • to practise (verb); the practice (noun)
  • Use bias-free, non-judgmental and inclusive language. Avoid language with a bias against age, disability, gender, racial and ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality. Use person-first language (e.g., person with dementia) except when the individual, community, or direct quotation of a source prefers identity-first language (e.g., I’m autistic) or alternate phrase. Ensure to use non-judgemental language, such as “living with” instead of “suffers from”. The American Psychological Association has published a guide on Bias-Free Language as well as Inclusive Language Guidelines. Another resource is Elements of Indigenous Style: A Guide for Writing By and About Indigenous Peoples by Gregory Younging (2018). Please note that CAOT’s preferred abbreviation is 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual) and that CAOT’s prefers the term ‘Indigenous’. Consider providing a reflexivity statement when discussing about a community of which you are not a member.

Specific CAOT style guidelines: 

  • Use of the abbreviation ‘OT’: ‘Occupational therapy’ and ‘occupational therapist’ should be written out in full and not abbreviated to ‘OT’ in the content of an article or as part of a permanent resource or set of materials. This will lessen confusion as to which term the abbreviation is referring to.  Where space is constrained, such as in a PowerPoint presentation, it is acceptable to shorten ‘occupational therapist’ to ‘OT’ after the first usage of the word is written in full, with the abbreviation next to it. Please note that the abbreviation for ‘occupational therapists’ is ‘OTs’. Do not use ‘OT’ as an abbreviation of occupational therapy.

    Note:  CJOT, OT Now and OT Weekly are established CAOT brand names where ‘OT’ represents occupational therapy.  At this time, the abbreviation policy will refer to running text only. 
  • Use of title: In Canada, the provincial regulatory organizations provide the rules regarding display of occupational therapist credentials, for example OT Reg. (Ont.) for Ontario and O.T. for Quebec.  Follow the guidelines in the province where you practice.
  • Academic credentials:
    • Degrees are placed after the name.
    • The highest professional degree should be stated first, followed by the credential as set out by the provincial regulator. Typically, only the highest degree is stated (e.g., drop the undergraduate degree once obtaining a graduate degree). This is personal choice, however, and individuals may wish to list multiple degrees especially when they are in different fields.
    • Eliminate punctuation in the degree designation but place a comma between each category.
    • Do not use an academic title before and after a name; for example, either Dr. Mary Smith or Mary Smith, PhD.
    • When writing out a degree in full, the apostrophe ‘s’ is used depending on context; for example, Bachelor of Science (formal name of the degree) but Master’s in Education (informally stating the level of the degree and field of study).
  • Trade names: Use the generic term unless the brand name makes a specific point, adds colour or impact to a story, or is a direct quote.  For example, the app is available to iPad users. She uses cotton swabs (vs. Q-Tips) to apply the glue.
  • Language consistent with the Competencies for Occupational Therapists in Canada (ACOTRO et al., 2021) includes a focus on promoting occupational participation (instead of occupational performance or occupational engagement), using the term client (rather than patient), using the term context (rather than environment), and using the term occupational therapy plan or therapy plan (instead of intervention plan or treatment plan). Starting in fall 2022, presenters of professional development activities with CAOT are expected to refer to these 2021 Competencies instead of previous versions. There are exceptions depending on context, such as a specific practice description, interdisciplinary settings, or a citation, where the previous terms may be used.
  • Language consistent with Promoting Occupational Participation: Collaborative Relationship-Focused Occupational Therapy (Egan & Restall, 2022): Starting in fall 2022, presenters of professional development activities with CAOT are encouraged to mention the current model (Canadian Model of Occupational Participation), the current approach (collaborative relationship-focused practice), and the current framework (Canadian Occupational Therapy Inter-Relational Practice Process) when relevant, instead of only including previous versions. The terminology in this publication also includes working with individuals and collectives (which includes families, groups, communities, and populations).
  • CAOT lexicon: A CAOT Lexicon document listing over 500 occupational therapy terms in English and French is available, with the intent to provide the profession with a specific and universal language framework. This Lexicon includes many examples of gender-inclusive communication in French in the field of occupational therapy.

Other resources:

Writing Tips Plus, an English style guide produced by the Translation Bureau of Public Works and Government Services Canada for the federal public service.