Occupational Therapist Assistants: What They Do and What Their Future Holds

Many people are familiar with what physical therapists do, but jobs in occupational therapy are gaining their own identity within the healthcare industry. Occupational therapist assistants are active in helping patients with the rehabilitation process. Read on to see what these professionals do for patients and what is in store for them in the future.

I’ve worked with physical therapists in the past, and I’ve witnessed the good they do for patients. Occupational therapists’ duties are similar to those of physical therapists. However, occupational therapists work toward helping the patient’s rehabilitation process in terms of everyday activities and tasks. Supervised by occupational therapists, occupational therapist assistants work to help patients with their day-to-day activities.

Occupational therapist assistants who are certified have a median salary of $42,186, according to Salary.com. Their pay can fall within a wider range, though. Occupational therapist assistants usually make between $38,359 and $46,358.



So, what do occupational therapist assistants really do? Read on to see how these health professionals help patients with their everyday lives.

Occupational Therapist Assistant Duties

1. Occupational therapist assistants help with the rehabilitation of patients. This is their main job duty, as these therapy assistants help improve a person’s everyday outlook — physically and emotionally.
   
   
2. Helping patients with everyday tasks is another responsibility of occupational therapist assistants. Patients who need help doing tasks independently have occupational therapist assistants who help them gain the ability to function properly.
   
   
3. Certain responsibilities in the office need to be taken care of by an occupational therapist assistant. Since occupational therapist assistants work underneath occupational therapists, they need to make sure that reports and other necessary paperwork are completed.

How You Can Become an Occupational Therapist Assistant

An occupational therapist assistant needs to have at least a high school diploma so that he or she can train to become a certified therapist assistant. Occupational therapist assistants can get certification information through the American Occupational Therapy Association. Work experience and volunteer experience in the medical field are beneficial to have. Training as an occupational therapist assistant is not too intense but an essential part of the occupational therapy industry.

The Future for Occupational Therapist Assistants

The outlook for occupational therapist assistants is “excellent,” according to CollegeBoard.com. Since the Baby Boom generation is growing older, the need for occupational therapist assistants is seeing a boom as well. Assistants are also more affordable than occupational therapists who are in supervisor positions with higher pay. The site also says that economists are predicting that the occupational therapy industry will grow “through 2014” and that “it is among the twenty fastest growing careers.”