FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                            Date:  December 7, 2006

Contact:  Diane Buzick, 786.4508, diane.buzick@llcc.edu

SPRINGFIELD – Lincoln Land Community College's Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) program was recently presented with the 2006 Outstanding Community Partner Award by United Cerebral Palsy of Lincoln Land.  The annual service award is given to a group in the community that assisted the United Cerebral Palsy agency to promote independence and opportunities for people with disabilities. 

LLCC’s occupational therapy assistant program has been affiliated with UCP since 1999. This past fall approximately 50 individuals at UCP benefited from the services of the LLCC OTA program.  Occupational therapy students assisted individuals at UCP with time and/or stress management and other life-skills training. 

LLCC’s OTA program includes a fieldwork curriculum to provide service-learning experiences for its occupational therapy students. Under the direction of Ruth Bixby, LLCC OTA program director, and Eve Fischberg, academic fieldwork coordinator/assistant professor, LLCC OTA students provide individual and group assessments and intervention in areas of life-skills training, sensory-motor skills development, and leisure exploration and participation.  The LLCC OTA program also provides assistance with assistive technology needs and staff training for assisting individuals with their individual goals for enhanced performance and participation in areas of occupation in their daily lives. 

For more information about LLCC’s Occupational Therapy Assistant program, contact Ruth Bixby, OTA program director, at 786.2872.