Advanced certification: Request for testing accommodations

AOTA and the Occupational Therapy Advanced Certification Commission (OTACC) comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and strive to ensure that no individual with a disability, defined by the ADA as a person who

  • has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities,
  • has a history or record of such an impairment, or who is perceived by others as having such an impairment,
  • is deprived of the opportunity to take the examination solely by reason of that disability.

OTACC will provide reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities.

Special accommodations

If you require special accommodations in order to sit for the examination, you should contact the Advanced Certification Program. You and your qualified health care provider will need to complete a form to document the disability and the need for accommodation.

You must provide medical documentation of the disability that is less than five years old. This means that you must have a current evaluation from the appropriate provider. OTACC must receive this documentation along with your application submission.

You must submit two forms with your application: the Request for Accommodations-Candidate Form and the Request for Accommodations-Provider Form.

These forms require you to substantiate:

  • The nature, severity, and duration of the disability
  • The types of activity or activities the disability limits
  • The extent to which the disability limits your ability to perform the activity or activities
  • Any past accommodations that you received in similar situations
  • What reasonable accommodation is requested and why it is needed.

The forms should be uploaded as part of the online application. Each request will be evaluated individually.

Please contact the Advanced Certification Program if you have any questions regarding special accommodations. AOTA and OTACC want to ensure that that candidates have the accommodations they need.

Lactating individual accommodations

AOTA and OTACC will approve the following accommodations upon submission of required documentation:

  • 30 minutes of extended time to complete the exam
  • Private room with lock for pumping session
  • Ability to take extended break for pumping session
  • Ability to bring needed pumping supplies into testing center.

Note that children are not permitted at PSI testing centers.

OTACC must receive this documentation along with your application submission. You must submit two forms with your application: the Request for Lactating Individual Accommodations Candidate Form and the Request for Lactating Individual Accommodations Provider Form.