25-26 Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant (COTA)

Essential Job Functions

• Participate in evaluation and assessment using standardized measures, formal and informal tests, and checklists as appropriate.
• Implement therapeutic procedures for which qualified as designated by the supervising Occupational Therapist.
• Assist with establishing goals for students and developing individual and group therapy activities.
• Consult with supervising therapist concerning implementation and status of therapy goals.
• Help develop an awareness of individual student needs and assist the Occupational Therapist in monitoring these needs.
• Assist with instructing the educational staff concerning the use of adaptive equipment, positioning programs, and integration of therapy goals into the classroom and academic activities to enhance the OT program.
• Assure that proper positioning and handling techniques are carried out correctly across all environments.
• Make recommendations for intervention and acts as an IEP member.
• Provide direct and indirect occupational therapy services.
• Consult with school personnel and parents in the therapeutic management of students as directed by Occupational Therapist.
• Maintain records regarding the occupational therapy interventions for individual students.
• Participate as a professional member of the Special Services Department Central Office.
• Provides formal and informal in-service to Administrators, parents, and teachers regarding the unique programs associated with occupational therapy as directed by Occupational Therapist.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities :

Successful performance of the job requires good customer service / people skills and to handle problems and provide information and technical assistance as requested. It requires complying with safety guidelines and policies to reduce accident or injury to staff or to students. It requires following school dress standards, proper attendance or leave policies, and other work-habits concerns for staff. Creativity, initiative and effective problem solving are critical to the success of the position.Help manage the computerization of school district operations. Provide training and support to district staff in the use of administrative computer systems. Perform such tasks to the ultimate benefit of the educational program. An incumbent in this position will utilize discretion, ingenuity and independent judgment due to the complexity of the job. Since there may be several ways to solve a problem, an incumbent is free to choose the solution.In a workday, the employee performs frequent bending / stooping; squatting / crouching; crawling / kneeling; and pushing and pulling. Employee's job requires frequent carrying / lifting of up to 50 pounds to transfer and carry equipment for treatment sessions to various sites. Must be able to safely transfer and stabilize students during therapy.