Meet Temor "Tay" Amin-Arsala
It was a chance encounter at The Gap that introduced Temor “Tay” Amin-Arsala to the field of occupational therapy. They were working as an assistant manager in the retail store having recently graduated from the University of Virginia with a BA in anthropology with a focus on sex and gender. A veteran with an above-the-knee amputation came into the store and Amin-Arsala helped him pick out a pair of jeans that would fit given his disability.
“We got to chatting about his rehabilitation and he said that physical therapy helped him learn how to walk again, but occupational therapy helped him learn how to live again,” said Amin-Arsala. “He described how OT helped him to get dressed, drive his car, and do a lot of the tasks that weren’t just necessary, but meaningful for him – and that really moved me. I had no idea what occupational therapy was before that.”
They went home and began googling “occupational therapy.” Over the next year and a half, they researched the field and volunteered in an outpatient rehabilitation clinic supporting an occupational therapist. They were accepted into the Tufts Occupational Therapy Master’s Program and graduated in 2017. This fall, they returned to serve as a teaching assistant in the Group Theory and Community-Based Practice class and the Occupational Therapy Practice with Older Adults class.
This spring, they are teaching a course entitled Topics in Emerging Practice Areas, which explores the non-traditional career paths available to OT practitioners. “OT is a very broad field and my class focuses on the new and innovative areas practitioners can work in,” they said. “We do projects exploring what OT looks like when you’re working with marginalized populations like children in foster care, youth who are not in a traditional school system, refugees, immigrants, and the LGBTQ community. We also highlight our role in addressing sex and intimacy issues throughout the lifespan. We run the gamut of topics OTs are able to address.”
Amin-Arsala’s professional background is likewise varied. They’ve worked in schools and educational settings with youth ages two to twenty-two and at skilled nursing facilities with older adults. In 2019, they completed a certificate in LGBT health policy and practice from The George Washington University and currently work as a diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and anti-racism coordinator at a private school in Beverly, Massachusetts. They serve as a Massachusetts State Delegate for the American Occupational Therapy Association and recently contributed a chapter to a textbook entitled Sexuality & Intimacy: An Occupational Therapy Approach that will be published this spring.
“The thing I love the most about occupational therapy is getting to explore what is most meaningful in people’s lives and helping them to keep that meaning despite any potential setbacks,” Amin-Arsala says. “It’s a very simple concept, but also a very important one that applies to teaching as well. Whether I’m supporting a client or educating a student on how to become a better OT practitioner, I’m getting to be someone who helps others along in their personal journey. I love that.”
Amin-Arsala has enjoyed returning to Tufts in a new capacity. They are reconnecting with former instructors and making connections with newer faculty members. “Out of all the schooling I’ve had, my experience at Tufts was my favorite,” says Amin-Arsala. “A lot of the professors I had were trying to cultivate me not just as an occupational therapist, but as a future leader in the profession. I’ve had a lot of people in my corner helping me to succeed.”
This summer, Amin-Arsala is beginning the Tufts Post-Professional Occupational Therapy Doctorate program and looks forward to being both a student and instructor. When they aren’t busy working, teaching, or studying, Amin-Arsala enjoys playing Dungeons and Dragons, consuming fun queer media, rock climbing, yoga, and tending to their plant collection.