Salary and Outlook
According to the US Department of Labor, there are 43,400 people employed as occupational therapy assistants in
the United States.
The median annual salary is $61,730.
Entry level employees earn approximately $46,810 per year and senior employees earn approximately $80,210
per year.
Estimates do not include other potential benefits such as health insurance, overtime, or retirement benefits that may be offered by employers.
Job Duties
- Design, fabricate, or repair assistive devices or make adaptive changes to equipment or environments.
- Assist educational specialists or clinical psychologists in administering situational or diagnostic tests to measure client's abilities or progress.
- Monitor patients' performance in therapy activities, providing encouragement.
- Instruct, or assist in instructing, patients and families in home programs, basic living skills, or the care and use of adaptive equipment.
- Maintain and promote a positive attitude toward clients and their treatment programs.
- Observe and record patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior and maintain this information in client records.
- Aid patients in dressing and grooming themselves.
- Implement, or assist occupational therapists with implementing, treatment plans designed to help clients function independently.
- Communicate and collaborate with other healthcare professionals involved with the care of a patient.
- Evaluate the daily living skills or capacities of physically, developmentally, or emotionally disabled clients.
- Attend continuing education classes.
- Report to supervisors, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior.
- Alter treatment programs to obtain better results if treatment is not having the intended effect.
- Work under the direction of occupational therapists to plan, implement, or administer educational, vocational, or recreational programs that restore or enhance performance in individuals with functional impairments.
- Teach patients how to deal constructively with their emotions.
- Demonstrate therapy techniques, such as manual or creative arts or games.
- Perform clerical duties, such as scheduling appointments, collecting data, or documenting health insurance billings.
- Assemble, clean, or maintain equipment or materials for patient use.
- Attend care plan meetings to review patient progress and update care plans.
- Order any needed educational or treatment supplies.
- Transport patients to and from the occupational therapy work area.
- Select therapy activities to fit patients' needs and capabilities.