Top occupational therapy assistant skills needed to get the job.

What are the top 3 traits or skills every occupational therapy assistant must have to excel?

Can you suggest any tips or insights to develop your occupational therapy assistant expertise?

Positive attitude, flexibility, patience and creativitiy for traits. Skills are dependent on the setting you work in ie rehab vs a school setting, psych vs SNF. I work in a public school which I love. A school based COTA plans treatments to assist the child in being functional academically. You have to have a significant amount of knowledge about sensory integration ,visual motor and visual perceptual skills, fine motor skills, in hand manipulation skills and praxis.Then you must have a bag of tricks (activities) to creatively address those areas in an age appropriate way because you may service kids from K all the way to grade 12. in addition, you need to know special education laws, write IEPS. attend meetings, do in class workshops and deal with parents teachers and administrators effectively. It is never dull and there is no butt wiping generally! We do do ADL"s but they must be school related i.e. buttoning, zipping, tying shoes etc. There is never a dull moment working with kids and I am lucky to work for the same district I live in. For all the negatives out there, I love the field of OT and am going for my MSOT in the fall so that I can keep learning and growing as a therapist.

vegmom in Harrisville, Rhode Island said: Positive attitude, flexibility, patience and creativitiy for traits. Skills are dependent on the setting you work in ie rehab vs a school setting, psych vs SNF. I work in a public school which I love. A school based COTA plans treatments to assist the child in being functional academically. You have to have a significant amount of knowledge about sensory integration ,visual motor and visual perceptual skills, fine motor skills, in hand manipulation skills and praxis.Then you must have a bag of tricks (activities) to creatively address those areas in an age appropriate way because you may service kids from K all the way to grade 12. in addition, you need to know special education laws, write IEPS. attend meetings, do in class workshops and deal with parents teachers and administrators effectively. It is never dull and there is no butt wiping generally! We do do ADL"s but they must be school related i.e. buttoning, zipping, tying shoes etc. There is never a dull moment working with kids and I am lucky to work for the same district I live in. For all the negatives out there, I love the field of OT and am going for my MSOT in the fall so that I can keep learning and growing as a therapist.

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