Associate of Occupational Science, Occupational Therapy Assistant - Effective July 2026

Locations: Orange County

Overview

Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP): 51.0803 (Occupational Therapist Assistant)

Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Code: 31-2011.00 (Occupational Therapy Assistants), 31-2012.00 (Occupational Therapy Aides)

Quarter Credits: 98.0

Clock Hours: 1710

Method of Delivery: Blended

Number of Weeks: 80*

*Weeks May be Extended Depending on Holiday and Break Schedules

Career Training Objective

The students in the Occupational Therapy Assistant (Associate of Occupational Science) program are educated to practice as occupational therapy assistants (OTA). The OTA works under the supervision of the occupational therapist (OT). Throughout the curriculum, OTA students are exposed to traditional areas of practice where occupational therapy professionals deliver their services. These areas of practice include, but are not limited to: working with children and youth in clinical inpatient outpatient services, as well as in schools; working with adults in clinical inpatient outpatient services, as well as in work hardening programs; working with older adults in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and in adult day care centers; and working with adults with mental health and behavioral challenges who receive OT services in behavioral clinics, acute care community hospitals, and state hospitals. The students will have exposure to emerging practice areas, specifically to the driver rehabilitation program.

The OTA program teaches students to implement occupational therapy treatment care plans, train and educate clients and their caregivers, collaborate with clients in designing therapeutic activities, be sensitive to clients’ different cultural backgrounds, embrace occupation-based practice as “the means and the end” of the OT practice, and to collaborate with other health care professionals to provide excellent, occupation-based and client-centered care.

The OTA program curriculum, in congruency with our philosophical belief that humans are active beings, encourages students into becoming active in their own process of learning. The curriculum is organized following a human developmental model (biological and psychological) as the conceptual curriculum framework and the three domains of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Domains as the categories of educational activities. The human developmental model is used to guide students in learning and understanding the impact of challenges on occupational performance during the life span of individuals, as well as developing their clinical skills. The three domains of Bloom’s taxonomy (knowledge, skills, and attitude) are applied throughout the curriculum. The curriculum involves the acquisition of knowledge and the development and shaping of intellectual skills as students begin to recognize facts, procedural patterns, as well as concepts that help in developing cognitive skills. The acquisition of skills pertinent to the profession, such as practice of hands-on activities, is of utmost importance and is used extensively in the curriculum. Personal attitude is very important in the delivery of health care. As such, OTA students’ awareness of their own behavioral strengths and weaknesses and how that affects their attitude is strongly emphasized from day one of the program. This is accomplished through self-assessment of behavior using a modified form of the Generic Abilities Assessment tool.

The program is 98 quarter credits to be completed in twenty months. The last four months of the program are dedicated to a full time Fieldwork experience (clinical education under the supervision of an OTA or OT professional).

Graduates of the Occupational Therapy Assistant program will be eligible to take the national certification examination for the occupational therapy assistant administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA). In addition, most states require licensure in order to practice and licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination.

Note: a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to perform fieldwork, take the NBCOT certification examination, and attain state licensure.

Learn more about ACC's Occupational Therapy Assistant Program

Instructional Equipment List

• Fully equipped functioning kitchen
• Two fully equipped bathrooms
• Functioning washer-dryer station
• Typical bedroom
• Adaptive equipment for bathing
• Adaptive equipment for dressing
• Adaptive equipment for grooming
• Adaptive equipment for feeding
• Adaptive equipment for cooking
• Anatomical charts and models, skeleton
• Balance equipment  for adults and children
• Hand evaluation kits with dynamometer, pinch meter, and goniometers
• Sensation tests
• Electrotherapy, cryotherapy, ultrasound, hydrocollator, paraffin modalities
• Resistant equipment, bars, balls, bands for hand and arm exercise
• Handwriting training supplies and adaptive equipment
• Projectors, computers, and monitors for presentations
• Pulse oximeters and blood pressure kits
• Sensory modulation supplies for adults and children
• Fully equipped  children’s therapy area including a swing with attachments
• Toys and games for children
• Transfer boards, tub benches, commode chairs
• Treatment tables, mats, bolsters, wedges, mirrors
• Wheelchairs with position equipment
• Children's seating and positioning equipment
• Climbing wall, ramp, and monkey bars
• A variety of walkers and canes
• Computer games
• Computerized assessments for cognitive screening
• Fully equipped splinting center
• Wide variety of developmental, sensory, motor, cognitive, and functional assessments
• Games, workbooks, arts and crafts supplies
• DVDs of educational and popular videos
• Patient education reference materials
• Home safety cards
• Online access to OT instructional videos (ICE Library)

Program Outline

Program Location: Orange County

† Courses delivered fully online.
^‡ Courses offered in a blended format, a combination of online and on ground.