AHPC Licensure Examination — Occupational Therapy

Sample Occupational Therapy practice questions

Try these 12 questions from different topics. Open "Show answer" to check yourself and read the explanation.

1. Question 1 · Occupation-Centred Assessment

   Which assessment question is most consistent with occupation-centred practice?

   1. A.Which diagnosis should define every goal?
   2. B.Which tasks can the therapist choose without the client?
   3. C.Which daily activities matter most to you and what prevents you from doing them?
   4. D.Why should the environment never be changed?
   Show answer

   Answer: C. Which daily activities matter most to you and what prevents you from doing them?

   Rehabilitation should connect impairments and context to the activities and life roles the person values.

2. Question 2 · Intervention & Environmental Adaptation

   A client can prepare meals safely after commonly used items are moved within reach. What type of intervention is this?

   1. A.Diagnostic imaging
   2. B.Pharmacological sedation
   3. C.Removal of every meaningful activity
   4. D.Environmental modification to support activity performance
   Show answer

   Answer: D. Environmental modification to support activity performance

   Changing the environment can reduce barriers and increase safe independence.

3. Question 3 · Outcomes, Rights & Teamwork

   What makes a rehabilitation goal most useful?

   1. A.It is meaningful to the person, measurable and linked to function or participation
   2. B.It is written without the person
   3. C.It contains no time frame or observable outcome
   4. D.It describes only the therapist’s workload
   Show answer

   Answer: A. It is meaningful to the person, measurable and linked to function or participation

   Collaborative measurable goals guide intervention and allow progress to be evaluated.

4. Question 4 · Occupational Science & Models of Practice

   The Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) describes a person in terms of:

   1. A.Volition, habituation and performance capacity
   2. B.Bones, joints and muscles that produce movement during daily tasks
   3. C.Only their diagnosis
   4. D.Their income
   Show answer

   Answer: A. Volition, habituation and performance capacity

   MOHO was developed by Gary Kielhofner.

5. Question 5 · ADL Training & Assistive Technology

   When dressing a patient with hemiplegia, the usual teaching is to:

   1. A.Put the shirt on the unaffected arm first, then the affected arm
   2. B.Dress both arms at the same time
   3. C.Dress the affected limb first and undress it last
   4. D.Avoid dressing practice
   Show answer

   Answer: C. Dress the affected limb first and undress it last

   This reduces strain on the weak limb.

6. Question 6 · Mental Health Occupational Therapy

   Occupational therapy in mental health mainly aims to:

   1. A.Diagnose psychiatric disorders using standardised questionnaires only
   2. B.Prescribe antipsychotic medicines
   3. C.Build routines, skills and meaningful roles that support recovery
   4. D.Keep patients in hospital
   Show answer

   Answer: C. Build routines, skills and meaningful roles that support recovery

   Engagement in valued occupations supports recovery and community living.

7. Question 7 · Paediatric OT & Sensory Processing

   Sensory integration theory was developed by:

   1. A.Gary Kielhofner, who also created the Model of Human Occupation
   2. B.A. Jean Ayres
   3. C.Florence Nightingale
   4. D.Sigmund Freud
   Show answer

   Answer: B. A. Jean Ayres

   It addresses how children process vestibular, proprioceptive and tactile input.

8. Question 8 · Hand Therapy & Splinting

   The position of safe immobilisation for the hand (to prevent contractures) is:

   1. A.Wrist flexed, MCP joints extended and IP joints flexed
   2. B.Wrist extended, MCPs flexed, IPs extended
   3. C.All joints fully extended
   4. D.All joints fully flexed
   Show answer

   Answer: B. Wrist extended, MCPs flexed, IPs extended

   Collateral ligaments of the MCPs are longest in flexion and the IP volar plates in extension.

9. Question 9 · Cognitive & Perceptual Rehabilitation

   A stroke patient who cannot use a toothbrush correctly despite normal strength and understanding may have:

   1. A.Hemiplegia affecting the dominant arm and hand
   2. B.Aphasia only
   3. C.Hemianopia
   4. D.Apraxia
   Show answer

   Answer: D. Apraxia

   Apraxia is a disorder of planning skilled movement.

10. Question 10 · Physical Rehabilitation in OT

    People with leprosy who have lost sensation in their hands should be taught to:

    1. A.Test hot water and cooking pots with their fingers before using them
    2. B.Inspect hands daily and use protective gloves and insulated handles
    3. C.Avoid using their hands for any task
    4. D.Soak hands in hot water daily
    Show answer

    Answer: B. Inspect hands daily and use protective gloves and insulated handles

    Insensate hands are injured by heat and pressure without the person noticing.

11. Question 11 · Musculoskeletal Anatomy & Kinesiology

    The rotator cuff muscle most commonly torn, which initiates shoulder abduction, is the:

    1. A.Supraspinatus
    2. B.Subscapularis, which internally rotates the humerus at the shoulder
    3. C.Teres major
    4. D.Deltoid
    Show answer

    Answer: A. Supraspinatus

    Supraspinatus initiates abduction; infraspinatus and teres minor rotate externally.

12. Question 12 · Neuroanatomy & Neurological Conditions

    Signs of an upper motor neurone lesion include:

    1. A.Flaccid weakness with muscle wasting and fasciculations
    2. B.Absent reflexes
    3. C.Fasciculations only
    4. D.Spasticity, brisk reflexes and an extensor plantar response
    Show answer

    Answer: D. Spasticity, brisk reflexes and an extensor plantar response

    LMN lesions cause flaccidity, wasting, reduced reflexes and fasciculations.