Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy professionals assess, utilize and adapt everyday activities to improve function, enhance performance, promote health, prevent illness and increase independence for those persons they provide care. They work collaboratively with their clients to identify areas of need and to develop creative solutions to address problem areas while respecting client background and culture and valuing their quality of life.

Occupational therapy services are provided to people from all walks of life in a variety of settings-from infants in the neonatal intensive care unit who need to interact with their parents, to children in elementary schools who have difficulty handwriting, to students with disabilities in colleges who cannot use computers, to adults children and adults in hospitals who have suffered an injury or illness and cannot perform everyday tasks like they used to, to elders living in retirement homes who face challenges associated with aging.   

Education

Three career paths are available.  Two paths lead to a career as an Occupational Therapist and one path leads to a career as an Occupational Therapy Assistant:

A bachelors degree (4 years) in occupational therapy to become an Occupational Therapist.

A masters degree (1 - 2 years after the Bachelors Degree) in occupational therapy to become an Occupational Therapist. A masters program provides more emphasis on critical thinking and research and provides more opportunity to be placed in higher level and higher paying positions. By the year 2007,  a masters degree will be the entry level degree to become an occupational therapist.

An associate degree (2 years) in an occupational therapy assistant program prepares you for a position as an Occupational Therapy Assistant working under the direction of a registered occupational therapist.

Both the Occupational Therapist and Occupational Therapy Assistant have to take a national certification exam to be able to practice in their chosen career.

Average Starting Salary
(in Southern California, dependent on specialty and location of practice)

Occupational Therapist - $45,000 - $65,000 annually

Occupational Therapy Assistant - $33,000 - 35,000 annually

For More Information Log on to:

The American Occupational Therapy Association click on Education & Accreditation, then on Educational Programs

The California Association of Occupational Therapy click on OT schools in California & Scholarship information

The Certification Board in Occupational Therapy