Georgia Occupational Therapists

Continuing Education and Licensing

Georgia-licensed occupational therapists have a biennial license renewal with a March 31st
deadline, even years. Twenty-four (24) continuing education hours are required to renew a
license. Of the 24 hours, eight (8) hours are allowed from online CE (14 in direct patient
care and a maximum of 6 in general CE.
National Accreditation is AOTA, and pre-approval is not required)
Two (2) hours of ethics in OT practice are required at each renewal, and fourteen (14)
hours must relate to hands-on patient care.
Professional Development Resources is an AOTA-approved provider
of continuing education (#3159). The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not
imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical
procedures by AOTA.

Continuing Education for Occupational Therapists

Improving Social Skills in Children & Adolescents
Improving Social Skills in Children & Adolescents is a 4-hour
online continuing education course that discusses the social
skills children and adolescents will need to develop to be
successful in school and beyond. It will demonstrate the
challenges and difficulties that arise from a deficit of these
crucial skills, as well as the benefits and advantages that can
come about with well-developed social skills. This course will
also provide practical tools that teachers and therapists can
employ to guide children to overcome their difficulties in the
social realm and gain social competence. While there are
hundreds of important social skills for students to learn, we can organize them into skill
areas to make it easier to identify and determine appropriate interventions. This course is
divided into 10 chapters, each detailing various aspects of social skills that children, teens,
and adults must master to have normative, healthy relationships with the people they
encounter every day. This course provides tools and suggestions that, with practice and
support, can assist them in managing their social skills deficits to function in society and
nurture relationships with the peers and adults in their lives.

Cyberbullying
Bullies have moved from the playground and workplace to
the online world, where anonymity can facilitate bullying
behavior. Cyberbullying is intentional, repeated harm to
another person using communication technology. It is not
accidental or random. It is targeted to a person with less
perceived power. This may be someone younger, weaker, or
less knowledgeable about technology. Any communication

device may be used to harass or intimidate a victim, such as a cell phone, tablet, or
computer. Any communication platform may host cyberbullying: social media sites
(Facebook, Twitter), applications (Snapchat, AIM), websites (forums or blogs), and any
place where one person can communicate with or at another person electronically. The
short and long-term effects of bullying are considered as significant as neglect or
maltreatment as a type of child abuse. This course reviews evidenced-based research for
identification, management and prevention of cyberbullying in children, adolescents and
adults. It will describe specific cyberbullying behaviors, review theories that attempt to
explain why bullying happens, list the damaging effects that befall its victims, and discuss
strategies professionals can use to prevent or manage identified cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying is a fast-growing area of concern and all healthcare professionals should be
equipped to spot the signs and provide support for our patients and clients, as well as keep
up with the technology that drives cyberbullying.

The Occupational Therapist in Long-Term Care

Occupational therapists work in a variety of settings. The most
common workplace is schools, followed by private practice and
hospitals. A growing number of occupational therapists,
however, are working full or part-time in skilled nursing
facilities as the population of the United States ages. Every
practice setting has unique characteristics that affect clinical
practice. Skilled nursing facilities have a multitude of
regulations, complicated billing practices, and a culture of care
that must be learned and integrated into the clinicians
treatment habits. This can make it difficult for the OT working part-time or PRN in a skilled
nursing facility. This introductory course will provide an overview of the important aspects
of long-term care that affect treatment, including the structure, organization and
reimbursement system of skilled nursing facilities. The average resident and common
treatment areas will also be discussed.

Autism Movement Therapy

Autism Movement Therapy is an emerging therapy that
combines movement and music with positive behavior
support strategies to assist individuals with Autism Spectrum
Disorder (ASD) in meeting and achieving their speech and
language, social and academic goals. Its purpose is to
connect left and right hemisphere brain functioning by
combining patterning, visual movement calculation, audile
receptive processing, rhythm and sequencing into a whole
brain cognitive thinking approach that can significantly
improve behavioral, emotional, academic, social, and speech
and language skills. This course is presented in two parts. Part 1 summarizes what is known
about the brain functioning of individuals with ASD and illustrates how participation in
dance, music and the arts can render the brain more amenable to learning social and
language skills. Part 2 is a documentary created by Joanne Lara Generation A: Portraits of
Autism and the Arts, which spotlights from a strikingly positive perspective the
challenges and accomplishments of eight individuals with ASD.