Rate My Professor Michael Curtin

Michael Curtin's research interests center on the lived experiences of people with disabilities, their significant others, and supporting professionals, utilizing qualitative approaches informed by biographical and phenomenological philosophies, alongside mixed methods. His projects encompass spinal cord injury grip effectiveness, life stories of children with cerebral palsy, participation of adults with brain injuries in regional areas, occupational therapy communities of practice, and transition experiences of middle-aged adults with disabilities. He has co-authored two World Health Organization manuals: Promoting the Development of Young Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Guide for Mid-level Rehabilitation Workers and Promoting Independence Following a Spinal Cord Injury: A Manual for Mid-Level Rehabilitation Workers. In 2009, he authored Guidelines for Creating Barrier-free Emergency Shelters for Handicap International, Nepal. Curtin co-edited the sixth edition of Occupational Therapy and Physical Dysfunction (2010), the seventh edition retitled Occupational Therapy for People Experiencing Illness, Injury or Impairment (2017), and edited the eighth edition (2025). He became a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2015 and, with colleagues, received the 2014 OLT Award for Programs that Enhance Learning for interdisciplinary international allied health programs. Curtin has extensive experience teaching occupational therapy subjects including assessment, practice skills, assistive technologies, and professional reasoning, and leads international student placements.