Occupational Therapy Assistant

What is Occupational Therapy?

Occupational therapy is a health care profession that focuses on helping people – The practice of occupational therapy involves the therapeutic use of everyday life activities - or “occupations” - with individuals or groups for the purpose of participation in roles and situations in home, school, work place, community, and other settings. Occupational therapy services are provided for the purpose of promoting health and wellness to those who have or are at risk for developing an illness, injury, disease, disorder, condition, impairment, disability, activity limitation, or participation restriction. Occupational therapy addresses the physical, cognitive, psychosocial, sensory, and other aspects of performance in a variety of contexts to support engagement in everyday life activities that affect health, well-being, and quality of life.

The Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA)

Under the supervision of a Registered Occupational Therapist, the occupational therapy assistant provides patient treatment, collects data for evaluations, develops goals for treatment, and documents treatment. Treatment interventions include, but is not limited to, therapeutic exercises, transfer training, activities of daily living re-training, handwriting intervention, sensory integration activities, re-training in independent activities of daily living, and neuromuscular facilitation techniques.

Where do Occupational Therapy Assistants work?

Occupational therapy assistants work in a variety of settings which includes, but are not limited to hospitals, nursing homes, home health, work rehabilitation, psychiatric facilities, schools, and outpatient clinics.

A felony conviction may or may not affect a student’s ability to sit for the national board certification exam required to be Texas licensed as an OTA. Students may opt for an Early Determination Review by the National Board of OT Examiners. Information on this process is available at this link to NBCOT. Searching the terms “Early Determination” or navigating the website using the following path: Students; Services; Early Determination.

Accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)

Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE)

6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929

Phone number 301-652-6611 (AOTA) 

www.acoteonline.org 

The National Bureau of Labor Statistics has found the following:

• Employment of occupational therapy assistants is expected to increase 43 percent from 2010 to 2020, much faster than the average growth for other occupations.
• Demand for occupational therapy is expected to rise significantly over the coming decade in response to the health needs of the aging baby-boom generation and a growing elderly population.
• Occupational therapy is important with treating children and young adults with developmental disabilities like autism, genetic disorders, and complications from prematurity.
• As of May 2015, in the state of Texas, the annual mean wage for occupational therapy assistants was $71,100 and the annual hourly rate is $34.18. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017).
• Percentile wage estimates for this occupation from lowest to highest percentile follows:

The Occupational Therapist Assistant program graduates licensures/certificates are issued by the nationally recognized National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy.

2021-2022 Third-Party Licensure/Certification Exam Results 

Occupational licensure and/or certification pass rates reported by academic calendar year (Sept. 1–Aug. 31). Results for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years are provided for comparison.  

A felony conviction may impact eligibility for certification and/or state licensure.

Pass rates for the certification exam for the National Board for Certification in Occupational can be found here.

Program Mission Statement

The mission of the Houston Community College Occupational Therapy Assistant program is to produce entry level practitioners that are dedicated to lifelong learning and providing evidence-based interventions collaboratively with the interdisciplinary team to promote the health and wellness of our diverse community through participation in occupations.

Program Philosophy

The philosophy of the Houston Community College’s Occupational Therapy Assistant Program is consistent with The Philosophical Base of Occupational Therapy (AOTA, 2017) and the Philosophy of Occupational Therapy Education (AOTA, 2018). The Philosophical Base of Occupational Therapy (AOTA, 2017) reflects the tenets of the occupational therapy profession, including the importance of occupation, the diverse contexts in which occupations occur and the importance of occupation in the overall health of our clients. The Philosophy of Occupational Therapy Education (AOTA, 2018) provides the foundation used to educate our students to the philosophies in their practice to produce an occupational therapy assistant that has an identity that is in line with the profession.

Collectively, the Houston Community College Occupational Therapy Assistant Program works to ensure that instruction embodies the philosophy and current vision of the occupational therapy profession and reinforces the importance of meaningful occupation in interventions that promote optimal health and engagement in the client’s environment. We believe that health and wellness is achieved and maintained through participation in purposeful activities or occupations. All individuals have the right to engage in meaningful occupations, build social relationships, and have an impact on their environment. The outcomes of occupational therapy can support this engagement through health promotion, prevention, habilitation, restoration, compensation and/or adaption.

Beliefs about Teaching and Learning

The program’s educational philosophy is based on the theories of andragogy and constructivism. These theories encourage learners to be active participants of the learning

experiences. They foster critical thinking and clinical reasoning through interactive integrated experiences, which will create connections and impact the learner overall.

We believe that:

• Students need to know the “why”.
• Students learn experimentally
• Students approach learning as problem solving.
• Interacting with others is vital to learning
• Learning is an active process
• Learning is based on each individual’s own perspectives and experiences
• Learning exists in the mind.

Tuition

Note:

• All students must carry a person health insurance policy to attend clinical training which is an additional cost.
• All fees and tuition costs are subject to change.

There are 280 Occupational Therapy Assistants employed in the Greater Houston Area. This number is expected to increase by 25.7% over the next four years.

• The estimated annual job openings is 28 jobs a year.
• Median Wages - $31.60 hourly, $66,000 annually