Tonya Said:

Do physical therapy assistants or occupational therapy assistants work more in schools with children?

We Answered:

Physical therapy assistants typically work with people who need rehabilitation after an accident, surgery, or due to some sort of pain or limitation due to a condition or disease. Usually, a patient goes to see a physical therapist assistant in an office or hospital; they do not go to a home or school.

Occupational therapists, on the other hand, have the job of helping patients work through whatever condition they have so that they can live life the most regular way possible. While many occupational therapists work in an office setting, it is often necessary for them to work with a patient in the patients natural environment in order for the patient to receive the best, most effective care.

Although I personally have never seen an occupational therapist in the school system, I can see how they would be helpful to some students. For instance, a school where I used to work had a class of autistic students who benefited from walks around the school and being pulled along on rolling carts, due to the stimulation. Even these simple things helped improve their concentration once they returned to class. My assumption is that an occupational therapist would have additional training to work not only with autistic students, but perhaps with students with disorders such as ADD, ADHD, emotional issues, and students with physical limitations.

I know that many school systems have a speech therapist who travels from school to school during the week to work with various students. Maybe COTAs do the same?

My suggestion is to speak with your local school system to see if they hire COTAs or PTAs. Honestly, in this economy, they may not be hiring either, but at least you will know for sure which is more prevalent. Hopefully by the time you finish training for your new career, the economy will turn around and you can have a great job doing this!