NBCOT EXAM 1 (2026-2027) QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS GRADED A+
A child avoids playground equipment that requires her feet to be off the ground.
What does this behavior MOST likely indicate?
A. Difficulty modulating proprioception.
B. Somatodyspraxia
C. Gravitational insecurity
D. Bilateral integration/sequencing deficit.
C. Gravitational insecurity.
Gravitational insecurity is described as "fear response to movement". The child
easily experiences a fear of falling and prefers to keep her feet firmly on the
ground. Tactile defensiveness (answer A) is a term used to describe discomfort
with various textures and with unexpected touch. Somatodyspraxia (answer B) has
is "foundation in somatosensory (e.g. primarily tactile but also proprioceptive)
discrimination deficits, which interfere with the development of body scheme and
awareness". Bilateral integration and sequencing deficits are related to "poor
vestibular-propioceptive discrimination, which interferes with the ability to
coordinate, sequence, and execute motor actions quickly and efficiently".
When the OT suspects tactile defensiveness as a rationale for a child's challenges,
in what area of participation should the OT focus on FIRST?
A. Play behavior
B. Dressing habits
,C. Social skills
D. Leisure interests
B. Dressing habits
Children with tactile defensiveness are "bothered by tactile aspects of daily living
activities.... specific types of clothing.... specific textures materials". The child may
be bothered by certain textures or avoid wearing turtlenecks, socks, or shoes.
Conversely, some children may never take off their shoes to avoid tactile
stimulation. Play behavior (answer A), social skills (answer C), and the choice of
hobbies (answer D) could be affected secondarily, as a result of intolerance to
certain textures or human touch. Knowledge of the child's dressing habits will give
the OT key information at the start of the evaluation process.
An OT is working with an individual with schizophrenia who is in the process of
preparing to move from a state hospital to a group home. During a baking group,
the client becomes agitated and leaves the room when another client uses the
electric hand mixer to mix the cake batter, and again when two clients begin to
argue loudly about which type of icing to use. How would the OT BEST describe
the behavior?
A. Low registration
B. Sensory avoiding
C. Sensation seeking
D. A hearing impairment
B. Sensory avoiding
The individual's actions are indicative of sensor avoiding behavior, characterized
by a low threshold to stimuli perceived as noxious, followed by an active response
such as leaving the room. Individuals with sensory avoiding behavior may
,"become distressed in situations in which they cannot control the environment" and
"do well in low stimulus situation or settings that others find dull". An individual
with low registration (answer A), sensory seeking behavior (answer C), or a
hearing impairment (answer D) would not have difficult with the auditory
stimulation caused by the roar of the mixer or loud voices.
During a self-care evaluation of an individual who recently sustained a brain
injury, the OT instructs the individual to comb his hair immediately after he
washes his face. The individual washes his face quickly, but then the therapist must
give him several reminders to comb his hair. The OT is MOST likely to identify
this as a deficit in what area?
A. Working memory
B. Judgment
C. Hearing
D. Abstraction
A. Working memory
"Working memory is the temporary storage of information while one is working
with it or attending to it. It includes the ability to recall information immediately
after exposure. It allows one to focus conscious attention and keeps track of
information as one is performing an activity". This individual's inability to comb is
hair without reminders suggests a deficit in working memory (answer A).
Judgment (answer B), the ability to make realistic and safe decisions based on
available environmental information, would not be needed for this task. Because
the person performed the first request, hearing (answer C) would seem to be intact.
Abstraction (answer D) is the ability to extrapolate information from an idea to
generalize to another situation and would not be needed to follow this direction.
, A supermarket employee with obsessive-compulsive disorder takes an hour to
stock 24 soup cans on the shelf because once he has placed the cans on the shelf,
he removes them and starts over, stating that "all labels were not lines up exactly in
the same direction." Which of the following methods would MOST effectively
evaluate the individual's work performance?
A. On-site observation of performance skills
B. Formal cognitive assessment
C. Verbal interview focusing on the requirements of the job
D. Task evaluation using a "clean" medium such as a puzzle
that is right
A. On-site observation of performance skills
An OT has been working with an individual who is recovering from a TBI. A
standard pivot transfer has been successfully demonstrated in the gym. The MOST
appropriate way to assess generalization of this new learning would be to have the
patient perform which activity?
A. Identify potential hazards in the patient's bathrooms that could make transfers
unsafe
B. Select an appropriate tub bench and nonskid mat for the patient's bathroom at
home
C. Attempt a standard pivot transfer from wheelchair to bed in the patient's hospital
room
D. Attempt a sliding board transfer from wheelchair to tub
C. Attempt a standard pivot transfer from wheelchair to bed in the patient's hospital
room
CORRECT ANSWERS GRADED A+
A child avoids playground equipment that requires her feet to be off the ground.
What does this behavior MOST likely indicate?
A. Difficulty modulating proprioception.
B. Somatodyspraxia
C. Gravitational insecurity
D. Bilateral integration/sequencing deficit.
C. Gravitational insecurity.
Gravitational insecurity is described as "fear response to movement". The child
easily experiences a fear of falling and prefers to keep her feet firmly on the
ground. Tactile defensiveness (answer A) is a term used to describe discomfort
with various textures and with unexpected touch. Somatodyspraxia (answer B) has
is "foundation in somatosensory (e.g. primarily tactile but also proprioceptive)
discrimination deficits, which interfere with the development of body scheme and
awareness". Bilateral integration and sequencing deficits are related to "poor
vestibular-propioceptive discrimination, which interferes with the ability to
coordinate, sequence, and execute motor actions quickly and efficiently".
When the OT suspects tactile defensiveness as a rationale for a child's challenges,
in what area of participation should the OT focus on FIRST?
A. Play behavior
B. Dressing habits
,C. Social skills
D. Leisure interests
B. Dressing habits
Children with tactile defensiveness are "bothered by tactile aspects of daily living
activities.... specific types of clothing.... specific textures materials". The child may
be bothered by certain textures or avoid wearing turtlenecks, socks, or shoes.
Conversely, some children may never take off their shoes to avoid tactile
stimulation. Play behavior (answer A), social skills (answer C), and the choice of
hobbies (answer D) could be affected secondarily, as a result of intolerance to
certain textures or human touch. Knowledge of the child's dressing habits will give
the OT key information at the start of the evaluation process.
An OT is working with an individual with schizophrenia who is in the process of
preparing to move from a state hospital to a group home. During a baking group,
the client becomes agitated and leaves the room when another client uses the
electric hand mixer to mix the cake batter, and again when two clients begin to
argue loudly about which type of icing to use. How would the OT BEST describe
the behavior?
A. Low registration
B. Sensory avoiding
C. Sensation seeking
D. A hearing impairment
B. Sensory avoiding
The individual's actions are indicative of sensor avoiding behavior, characterized
by a low threshold to stimuli perceived as noxious, followed by an active response
such as leaving the room. Individuals with sensory avoiding behavior may
,"become distressed in situations in which they cannot control the environment" and
"do well in low stimulus situation or settings that others find dull". An individual
with low registration (answer A), sensory seeking behavior (answer C), or a
hearing impairment (answer D) would not have difficult with the auditory
stimulation caused by the roar of the mixer or loud voices.
During a self-care evaluation of an individual who recently sustained a brain
injury, the OT instructs the individual to comb his hair immediately after he
washes his face. The individual washes his face quickly, but then the therapist must
give him several reminders to comb his hair. The OT is MOST likely to identify
this as a deficit in what area?
A. Working memory
B. Judgment
C. Hearing
D. Abstraction
A. Working memory
"Working memory is the temporary storage of information while one is working
with it or attending to it. It includes the ability to recall information immediately
after exposure. It allows one to focus conscious attention and keeps track of
information as one is performing an activity". This individual's inability to comb is
hair without reminders suggests a deficit in working memory (answer A).
Judgment (answer B), the ability to make realistic and safe decisions based on
available environmental information, would not be needed for this task. Because
the person performed the first request, hearing (answer C) would seem to be intact.
Abstraction (answer D) is the ability to extrapolate information from an idea to
generalize to another situation and would not be needed to follow this direction.
, A supermarket employee with obsessive-compulsive disorder takes an hour to
stock 24 soup cans on the shelf because once he has placed the cans on the shelf,
he removes them and starts over, stating that "all labels were not lines up exactly in
the same direction." Which of the following methods would MOST effectively
evaluate the individual's work performance?
A. On-site observation of performance skills
B. Formal cognitive assessment
C. Verbal interview focusing on the requirements of the job
D. Task evaluation using a "clean" medium such as a puzzle
that is right
A. On-site observation of performance skills
An OT has been working with an individual who is recovering from a TBI. A
standard pivot transfer has been successfully demonstrated in the gym. The MOST
appropriate way to assess generalization of this new learning would be to have the
patient perform which activity?
A. Identify potential hazards in the patient's bathrooms that could make transfers
unsafe
B. Select an appropriate tub bench and nonskid mat for the patient's bathroom at
home
C. Attempt a standard pivot transfer from wheelchair to bed in the patient's hospital
room
D. Attempt a sliding board transfer from wheelchair to tub
C. Attempt a standard pivot transfer from wheelchair to bed in the patient's hospital
room
