Fred Sammons is one of my favorite champions of the practice of occupational therapy. Sammons was first and foremost an outstanding occupational therapist who was committed to helping those with disabilities live the fullest life possible. But his role as savvy entrepreneur is what earned him the honor of one the 100 most influential people in OT. Sammons’ enthusiasm and interest in what OTs and their patients needed was an inspiration early in my career. Fred Sammons has received so many honors from the OT profession for his varied contributions to our field that it is difficult to know where to start, but I hope hearing his story again (or maybe for the first time) will inspire your practice.
Sammons’ early life included personal experiences with disability among his neighbors and family; work as a mechanic on his family farm, service in the Korean War, work on an iron ore ship in the Great Lakes and as an instructor for mechanical drawing. After returning from the Army, Sammons earned a degree in occupational therapy, and he landed at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago fitting patients with prosthetics. Sammons creativity and intuitive sense of what his patients needed led to his first business venture.
His business started as a mail order company in 1958 providing OTs access to the tools they were creating in their own clinics. The ubiquitous button hook, created and used by OT everywhere, was one of his first offerings. It turned out that OTs loved buying his ready-made designs, and Sammons knack for listening to occupational therapists and patients meant his product line continued to expand with equally popular products. His business eventually featured thousands of different items becoming the “Sears” catalogue for OTs. Explore the Fred Sammons Archives for images, catalogs and interviews.
Sammons’ work continues today with a project close to his heart – outfitting everyone who has need with a tricycle. His innovations over the years included a unique seating system for tricycles for kids and adults with disabilities. Sammons is also recognized for his other philanthropic efforts. Always looking forward, he gave the AOTA their first computer. His current efforts include an endowment to support the Sammons Center for Innovation and Research in Occupation Based Technology at Western Michigan University. Each year the Center awards innovators a grant for the best design of an occupation-based technology. Sammons is also a generous contributor to the American Occupational Therapy Foundation.
Any article about Sammons is not complete without mentioning “a picture with Fred”. Sammons was a pioneer of “selfies” before anyone ever called them “selfies”, and a picture with Fred has been a staple of the AOTA conference for years. If you see him next year, make sure to grab a selfie with him! While Sammons is one of favorites on the list of the 100 most influential persons in OT, check out the accomplishments of the other 99 to inspire your own practice.
