SECTION 362.1. Definitions

The following words, terms, and phrases when used in this part shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(1) Accredited Educational Program--An educational institution offering a course of study in occupational therapy that has been accredited or approved by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association.

(2) Act--The Occupational Therapy Practice Act, Title 3, Subtitle H, Chapter 454 of the Texas Occupations Code.

(3) AOTA--American Occupational Therapy Association.

(4) Applicant--A person who applies for a license to the Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners.

(5) Board--The Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners (TBOTE).

(6) Client--The entity that receives occupational therapy; also may be known as patient. Clients may be individuals (including others involved in the individual's life who may also help or be served indirectly such as a caregiver, teacher, parent, employer, spouse), groups, or populations (e.g., organizations, communities).

(7) Complete Application--Application form with photograph, license fee, jurisprudence examination with at least 70% of questions answered correctly, and all other required documents.

(8) Complete Renewal--Contains renewal fee, renewal form with continuing education submission form, home/work address(es), jurisprudence examination with at least 70% of questions answered correctly, and all other required documents.

(9) Continuing Education Committee--Reviews and makes recommendations to the Board concerning continuing education requirements and special consideration requests.

(10) Coordinator of Occupational Therapy Program--The employee of the Executive Council who carries out the functions of the Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners.

(11) Endorsement--The process by which the Board issues a license to a person currently licensed in another state or territory of the United States that maintains professional standards considered by the Board to be substantially equivalent to those set forth in the Occupational Therapy Practice Act and who is applying for a Texas license for the first time.

(12) Evaluation--The process of planning, obtaining, documenting, and interpreting data necessary for intervention. This process is focused on finding out what the client wants and needs to do and on identifying those factors that act as supports or barriers to performance.

(13) Examination--The Examination as provided for in §454.207 of the Occupational Therapy Practice Act (relating to License Examination). The current Examination is the initial certification examination given by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).

(14) Executive Council--The Executive Council of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Examiners.

(15) Executive Director--The employee of the Executive Council who functions as its agent. The Executive Council delegates implementation of certain functions to the Executive Director.

(16) Intervention--The process of planning and implementing specific strategies based on the plan of care, which includes the client's desired outcome and evaluation data, and evidence to effect change in the client's occupational performance leading to engagement in occupation to support participation.

(17) Investigation Committee--Reviews and makes recommendations to the Board concerning complaints and disciplinary actions regarding licensees, applicants, and entities regulated by the Board.

(18) Investigator--The employee of the Executive Council who conducts all phases of an investigation into a complaint filed against a licensee, an applicant, or an entity regulated by the Board.

(19) Jurisprudence Examination--An examination covering information contained in the Occupational Therapy Practice Act and Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners Rules. This test is an open book, online examination with multiple choice and/or true-false questions. The passing score is at least 70%.

(20) License--Document issued by the Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners that authorizes the practice of occupational therapy in Texas.

(21) Medical Condition--A condition of acute trauma, infection, disease process, psychiatric disorders, addictive disorders, or post-surgical status. Synonymous with the term health care condition.

(22) NBCOT--National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy.

(23) Non-Licensed Personnel--OT Aide or other person not licensed by this board who provides support services to and requires supervision by occupational therapy practitioners.

(24) Non-Medical Condition--A condition where the ability to perform occupational roles is impaired by developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, the aging process, sensory impairment, psychosocial dysfunction, or other such conditions that do not require the routine intervention of a physician.

(25) Occupation--Activities of everyday life, named, organized, and given value and meaning by individuals and a culture. Occupation is everything people do to occupy themselves, including looking after themselves, enjoying life, and contributing to the social and economic fabric of their communities.

(26) Occupational Therapist (OT)--An individual who holds a license to practice or represent self as an Occupational Therapist in Texas. This definition includes an Occupational Therapist who is designated as an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR®).

(27) Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA)--An individual who holds a license to practice or represent self as an Occupational Therapy Assistant in Texas and who is required to be under the general supervision of an OT. This definition includes an Occupational Therapy Assistant who is designated as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA®).

(28) Occupational Therapy Plan of Care--A written statement of the planned course of occupational therapy intervention for a client. It must include goals, objectives and/or strategies, recommended frequency and duration, and may also include methodologies and/or recommended activities.

(29) Occupational Therapy Practice--Includes:

(A) Methods or strategies selected to direct the process of interventions such as:

(i) Establishment, remediation, or restoration of a skill or ability that has not yet developed or is impaired.

(ii) Compensation, modification, or adaptation of activity or environment to enhance performance.

(iii) Maintenance and enhancement of capabilities without which performance in everyday life activities would decline.

(iv) Health promotion and wellness to enable or enhance performance in everyday life activities.

(v) Prevention of barriers to performance, including disability prevention.

(B) Evaluation of factors affecting activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), education, work, play, leisure, and social participation, including:

(i) Client factors, including body functions (such as neuromuscular, sensory, visual, perceptual, cognitive) and body structures (such as cardiovascular, digestive, integumentary, genitourinary systems).

(ii) Habits, routines, roles and behavior patterns.

(iii) Cultural, physical, environmental, social, and spiritual contexts and activity demands that affect performance.

(iv) Performance skills, including motor, process, and communication/interaction skills.

(C) Interventions and procedures to promote or enhance safety and performance in activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), education, work, play, leisure, and social participation, including:

(i) Therapeutic use of occupations, exercises, and activities.

(ii) Training in self-care, self-management, home management and community/work reintegration.

(iii) Development, remediation, or compensation of physical, cognitive, neuromuscular, sensory functions and behavioral skills.

(iv) Therapeutic use of self, including one's personality, insights, perceptions, and judgments, as part of the therapeutic process.

(v) Education and training of individuals, including family members, caregivers, and others.

(vi) Care coordination, case management and transition services.

(vii) Consultative services to groups, programs, organizations, or communities.

(viii) Modification of environments (home, work, school, or community) and adaptation of processes, including the application of ergonomic principles.

(ix) Assessment, design, fabrication, application, fitting and training in assistive technology, adaptive devices, and orthotic devices, and training in the use of prosthetic devices.

(x) Assessment, recommendation, and training in techniques to enhance functional mobility including wheelchair management.

(xi) Driver rehabilitation and community mobility.

(xii) Management of feeding, eating, and swallowing to enable eating and feeding performance.

(xiii) Application of physical agent modalities, and use of a range of specific therapeutic procedures (such as wound care management; techniques to enhance sensory, perceptual, and cognitive processing; manual therapy techniques) to enhance performance skills.

(30) Occupational Therapy Practitioners--Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants licensed by this board.

(31) Outcome--The focus and targeted end objective of occupational therapy intervention. The overarching outcome of occupational therapy is engagement in occupation to support participation in context(s).

(32) Place(s) of Business--Any facility in which a licensee practices.

(33) Practice--Providing occupational therapy as a clinician, practitioner, educator, or consultant to clients located in Texas at the time of the provision of occupational therapy services. Only a person holding a license from this board may practice occupational therapy in Texas, and the site of practice is the location in Texas where the client is located at the time of the provision of services.

(34) Rules--Refers to the TBOTE Rules.

(35) Screening--A process used to determine a potential need for occupational therapy interventions and educational and/or other client needs. Screening information may be compiled using observation, client records, the interview process, self-reporting, and/or other documentation.

(36) Telehealth--A mode of service delivery for the provision of occupational therapy services delivered by an occupational therapy practitioner to a client at a different physical location using telecommunications or information technology. Telehealth refers only to the practice of occupational therapy by occupational therapy practitioners who are licensed by this board with clients who are located in Texas at the time of the provision of occupational therapy services. Also may be known as other terms including but not limited to telepractice, telecare, telerehabilitation, and e-health services.

Source Note: The provisions of this §362.1 adopted to be effective October 11, 1994, 19 TexReg 7712; amended to be effective January 1, 1996, 20 TexReg 10906; amended to be effective May 8, 1996, 21 TexReg 3714; amended to be effective March 5, 1997, 22 TexReg 1897; amended to be effective November 4, 1997, 22 TexReg 10747; amended to be effective October 25, 1998, 23 TexReg 10911; amended to be effective August 21, 2000, 25 TexReg 8062; amended to be effective October 16, 2000, 25 TexReg 10377; amended to be effective February 12, 2001, 26 TexReg 1346; amended to be effective July 22, 2001, 26 TexReg 5440; amended to be effective December 27, 2001, 26 TexReg 10623; amended to beeffective July 22, 2002, 27 TexReg 6545; amended to be effective November 15, 2004, 29 TexReg 10581; amended to be effective May 31, 2007, 32 TexReg 2877; amended to be effective December 21, 2008, 33 TexReg 10189; amended to be effective June 18, 2009, 34 TexReg 3982; amended to be effective October 6, 2013, 38 TexReg 6928; amended to be effective July 1, 2016, 41 TexReg 4046; amended to be effective March 1, 2018, 43 TexReg 901; amended to be effective September 1, 2019, 44 TexReg 4325; amended to be effective June 1, 2022, 47 TexReg 3061