Occupational Therapy Assistants and Aides: Salary, career path, job outlook, education and more

Occupational therapy assistants and aides help patients develop, recover, improve, as well as maintain the skills needed for daily living and working. Occupational therapy assistants are directly involved in providing therapy to patients; occupational therapy aides typically perform support activities. Both assistants and aides work under the direction of occupational therapists.

What do Occupational Therapy Assistants and Aides do?

Occupational therapy assistants typically do the following:

• Help patients do therapeutic activities, such as stretches and other exercises
• Lead children who have developmental disabilities in play activities that promote coordination and socialization
• Encourage patients to complete activities and tasks
• Teach patients how to use special equipmentfor example, showing a patient with Parkinsons disease how to use devices that make eating easier
• Record patients progress, report to occupational therapists, and do other administrative tasks

Occupational therapy aides typically do the following:

• Prepare treatment areas, such as setting up therapy equipment
• Transport patients
• Clean treatment areas and equipment
• Help patients with billing and insurance forms
• Perform clerical tasks, including scheduling appointments and answering telephones

Occupational therapy assistants collaborate with occupational therapists to develop and carry out a treatment plan for each patient. Plans include diverse activities such as teaching the proper way for patients to move from a bed into a wheelchair and advising patients on the best way to stretch their muscles. For example, an occupational therapy assistant might work with injured workers to help them get back into the workforce by teaching them how to work around lost motor skills. Occupational therapy assistants also may work with people who have learning disabilities, teaching them skills that allow them to be more independent.

Assistants monitor activities to make sure that patients are doing them correctly. They record the patients progress and provide feedback to the occupational therapist so that the therapist can change the treatment plan if the patient is not getting the desired results.

Occupational therapy aides typically prepare materials and assemble equipment used during treatment. They may assist patients with moving to and from treatment areas. After a therapy session, aides clean the treatment area, put away equipment, and gather laundry.

Occupational therapy aides fill out insurance forms and other paperwork and are responsible for a range of clerical tasks, such as scheduling appointments, answering the telephone, and monitoring inventory levels.