Certified Occupational Therapist (Cota)

Position Title: Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant (COTA)
Term of Employment: Full-Time, 10 months
Reports To: Occupational Therapist/Director of Exceptional Children
Pay Information: SG 67
General Statement of Job

• The occupational therapy assistant works with students identified with or suspected of having disabilities that interfere with their ability to perform daily life activities and participate in necessary and desired occupations. The employee assists in the process of screening and evaluation, the development and implementation of intervention services, and review and modify intervention programs under the supervision of a licensed Occupational Therapist.

Essential Job Functions

• Provides occupational therapy services to exceptional needs students.
• Assists the Occupational Therapist's evaluation of student's abilities through a variety of functional, behavioral, and standardized assessments, data collection, checklists, and interviews with family, student and educational personnel, and observations once competency has been demonstrated.
• Assists the Occupational Therapist in the development of individualized education plans.
• Participates in individual education plan meetings with parents.
• Based on the individual education plan, selects and implements therapeutic interventions to enhance student performance in areas of occupation, safety, and social participation within the school environment.
• Based on the educational plan, modifies the environment including equipment, materials, devices, and adapts processes including the application of ergonomic principles.
• Explains intervention techniques to students, parents, and educational personnel.
• Continuously monitors through observation and consultation student progress and the effect of intervention and need for continuation, modification, or termination.
• Communicates information to the Occupational Therapist.
• Documents occupational therapy services and maintains records in accordance with state guidelines, school policy, and reimbursement standards.
• Participates in multi-disciplinary team meetings to communicate student progress.
• Maintains inventory of therapeutic equipment and projects needs for budget planning.
• Maintains, organizes, and prioritizes workload and treatment environments including inventories.
• Uses professional literature to make informed practice decisions.
• Uses good time management skills.
• Communicates with parents, teachers, administrators and coordinates therapy with the teachers and therapists.
• Performs other related tasks as required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of basic features of main occupational therapy theories, models of practice, principles, and evidence-based practice.
• General knowledge of human development throughout the lifespan.
• Ability to articulate the role of the occupational therapy assistant and the Occupational Therapist in the evaluation, intervention planning, and the special education process.
• Ability to articulate the difference between occupation and activity.
• Ability to analyze tasks relative to areas of occupation, performance skills, activity demands, context (s), and student factors to implement the intervention plan.
• Ability to recognize occupational performance deficits in the areas of personal care, student role/interactive skills, process skills, play, community integration/work, and graphic communication.
• Ability to articulate the influence of socio-cultural, socioeconomic, and diversity factors on student occupational performance.
• General knowledge of the federal, state, local legislation, regulations, policies and procedures that mandate and affect school-based occupational therapy services.
• Skill in gathering screening and evaluation data, completing checklists, histories, and interviews.
• Ability to select, adapt, and sequence relevant and purposeful activities that support intervention goals.
• Thorough knowledge of casework methods and procedures.
• Skilled in the use of computer equipment.
• Ability to conduct interviews, assessments and diagnosis effectively and analyze needs and problems objectively.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with children, students, parents, staff and administration and the general public.
• Ability to prepare and maintain accurate records and progress notes.

Minimum Training and Experience

• Successful completion and graduation from an accredited associate's degree Occupational Therapy Assistant program recognized by NBCOT and completion of all fieldwork requirements.
• Two years of experience as an occupational therapy assistant, preferably in pediatrics.
• Initial certification as an Occupational Therapist assistant by the National Board for Certification of Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).
• Current license as an Occupational Therapist assistant by the North Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy.

Minimum Qualifications or Standards Required to Perform Essential Job Functions

• This work requires the occasional exertion of up to 40 pounds of force.
• Work regularly requires speaking or hearing, frequently requires standing, walking and sitting and occasionally requires using hands to finger, handle or feel, stooping, kneeling, crouching or crawling, reaching with hands and arms, lifting and repetitive motions.
• Work has standard vision requirements.
• Vocal communication is required for expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word and conveying detailed or important instructions to others accurately, loudly or quickly.
• Hearing is required to perceive information at normal spoken word levels and to receive detailed information through oral communications and/or to make fine distinctions in sound.
• Work requires preparing and analyzing written or computer data.
• Work occasionally requires exposure to bloodborne pathogens and may be required to wear specialized personal protective equipment

Disclaimer
The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees to this job.