Michael Curtin

Biography

Michael graduated from the University of Queensland in 1983 with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy. After graduating he worked in Toowoomba, Hobart and Ballarat, primarily with children and young people, for a few years. He then lived in Botswana from 1987 to 1991, where he developed an occupational therapy service in Gaborone, Francistown and surrounding areas. Following this he gained employment as a research occupational therapist for four years at the National Spinal Injuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, England. This led onto a position as an occupational therapy lecturer at the University of Southampton, England, from 1995 to 2003. Michael returned to Australia at the beginning of 2004 to take up the post of occupational therapy lecturer at Charles Sturt University. He became Discipline Lead of the occupational therapy course in 2005 and Associate Head of School of Community Health in 2014. Michael completed his Master of Philosophy, from Oxford Brookes University in 1996. The title of his dissertation was "Tetraplegic Hand Grips". In 2004, he completed his Doctorate of Education, from the University of Southampton. The title for his dissertation was "The Biographies of Young People with Motor Impairment". Michael has written a number of occupational therapy related journal articles and book chapters, and presented at national and international conferences on a variety of topics. He is the co-author of 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 Michael authored "Guidelines for Creating Barrier-free Emergency Shelters" on behalf of Handicap International, Nepal. Michael is also the co-editor of the 6th edition of the occupational therapy textbook "Occupational Therapy and Physical Dysfunction" (2010) and is currently working on the 7th edition (due for publication in 2016).

Research Interest

Michael's research interest primarily focus on investigating the live experiences of people with disability, their significant others, and the professionals who work with them.