Career Tips & Advice

What Kind of Schooling is Required to Become an Occupational Therapy Assistant?

Concorde Staff

Concorde Staff

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Updated November 29, 2011. The information contained in this blog is current and accurate as of this date.
Occupational Therapy Assistant Schools

As an Occupational Therapy Assistant, you will be trained in a wide variety of skills and disciplines, giving you the ability to help patients participate in basic everyday activities.

What an Occupational Therapy Assistant does

Occupational therapy assistant working with toddler

 

What Does an Occupational Therapy Assistant Do?

Occupational Therapy Assistants help patients improve their ability to perform everyday tasks with great independence and ease. They work with individuals who suffer from mental, physical, developmental or emotional conditions and assist clients in a wide variety of activities from using the computer to cooking and eating. Occupational Therapy Assistants work under the direction of a therapist in a number of different settings including hospitals, clinics, clients' homes and more.

What skills does an Occupational Therapy Assistant use?

Most Occupational Therapy Assistant programs take up to 20 months to complete and include training in several different disciplines to give you a well-rounded skill base that includes:

  • Identifying anatomical position and major planes of the body
  • Ethical dispute resolution and conflict resolution systems
  • Major sociological perspectives, culture, social structure, and interaction
  • Basic Life Support (BLS), first aid, infection control, and vital signs
  • Biomechanical principles of joint motion, posture, and balance
  • Etiology, clinical process and prognosis of common diseases and illnesses
  • Therapeutic interventions and techniques used to enhance functional ability
  • Occupational therapy terminology
  • Joint protection, energy conservation, and work simplification

Take the next step

Occupational therapy assistant working with child

 

Want to learn more about what it takes to become an occupational therapy assistant? Reach out to one of our admissions reps to find out what Concorde can do for you!

 

 

Take The Next Step Towards a Brighter Future

Interested in learning more about our Occupational Therapy Assistant program? We have a Concorde representative ready to talk about what matters most to you. Get answers about start dates, curriculum, financial aid, scholarships and more!

  1. Program length may be subject to change dependent on transfer credits and course load. Please refer to current course catalog for more information. Concorde does not guarantee admittance, graduation, subsequent employment or salary amount.

  2. Professional certification is not a requirement for graduation, may not be a requirement for employment nor does it guarantee employment.

  3. Financial aid is available to those who qualify but may not be available for all programs. Concorde does not guarantee financial aid or scholarship awards or amounts.

  4. Clinical hour requirements and delivery may vary by campus location and may be subject to change. Concorde does not guarantee clinical site assignments based upon student preference or geographic convenience; nor do clinical experiences guarantee graduation, post-clinical employment or salary outcomes.

  5. Registration and certification requirements for taking and passing these examinations are not controlled by Concorde, but by outside agencies, and are subject to change by the agency without notice. Therefore, Concorde cannot guarantee that graduates will be eligible to take these exams, at all or at any specific time, regardless of their eligibility status upon enrollment.

  6. Externships are a non-paid in-person learning experience, whose length and location may be subject to change. Concorde does not guarantee externship placement, graduation, post-externship employment or salary outcomes.