Occupational Therapy Assistant

Admission requirement:

• Current high school senior or high school graduate with minimum high school GPA 2.7, or 9 credit hours of college-level courses with minimum GPA 2.0 or higher OR College/ICC student with minimum overall college GPA 2.0 or higher.

• Requires the Health Science Application

  
  Additional requirements after program acceptance:

• Submit negative drug screen, negative criminal background check, and documentation of physical examination and required immunizations 

• Complete Healthcare Provider CPR certification from the American Heart Association (AHA) Basic Life Support (BLS) or American Red Cross (ARC) BLS attained and keep it current throughout program 

• Participate in program registration and orientation sessions 

• Maintain minimum GPA 2.0 and earn a C grade or better in all courses required within program

Recommendations:

• High school courses: English, science, mathematics, keyboarding, art 

• Prior to application, schedule an appointment with college health careers student success advisor for assistance with enrolling in required courses

• Required general education courses from program sequence may be completed with grade C or higher, prior to acceptance/admission into program.

• BIOL 140 and OTA 100 should be completed the semester prior to start of program and/or program courses.

The Occupational Therapy Assistant Program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929. ACOTE´s telephone number, c/o AOTA is (301) 652-6611. Web address is www.acoteonline.org.  Graduates of the program will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapy assistant, administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).  NBCOT will ask questions related to the topic of felonies.  A felony conviction may affect a graduate's ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.  NBCOT contact information is One Bank Street, Suite 300, Gaithersburg, MD 20878, (301) 990-7979. Email is info@nbcot.org and web address is www.nbcot.org.  After successful completion of NBCOT exam, the graduate will be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA). In addition, most states require licensure to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on results of the NBCOT certification exam. Credentialing is a function of the NBCOT, not Illinois Central College or the American Occupational Therapy Association.

The certified occupational therapy assistant collaborates with the supervising occupational therapist to provide the use of occupations (everyday life activities) with individuals and/or groups across the life span.  These occupations include ADLS (activities of daily living), IADLS (instrumental activities of daily living), education, work, rest, sleep, play, and social participation.  Occupational therapy assistants provide services that will promote health, well-being, participation and engagement in occupation throughout one’s lifespan. Occupational therapy assistants apply a holistic approach and recognize the significance of the mind, body and spirit as they focus on areas of physical, cognitive, psychosocial and sensory impairment. The occupational therapy assistant may be employed in a variety of traditional and emerging practice areas. These settings may include but are not limited to hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, out-patient clinics, schools, community-based centers, behavioral health programs and home health agencies.

Maintain a grade of C or better in all required general education and program courses.