What exactly is an occupational therapy assistant?

Im looking to change careers, and i always see job openings for this. Is it good money?

An assistant to an Occupational Therapist! You probably wil do his appointment taking, billing and coding, showing the patient where to go etc.assisting with sessions with what to Dr. wants you to do.

anytime you see "assistant" it's probably not good money. You'd make $12-18/hr. Some places or maybe all...require a degree. You assist the registered OT's and help patients with upper body activties, like applying make up and dressing, showering, eating and teaching other things like caths and with bowel programs. You would also have to document care given and attend conferences related to patients progress reporting to other health care professionals such as RNs and MDs.

OT's work in the service filed (in schools, hospitals, nursing homes) to help people improve fine motor activities (such as handwriting, shoe tying, hand coordination, etc.) They also help people that have sensory integration issues such as an aversion to touching certain substances. They basically help people manage and perform daily activities involving fine motor control and sensory processing.

If you don't know what the position upholds, why the interest.
A career is something one is suppose to be interested in and I may add dedication to the position it upholds ( in particular to your client or patient.).
Find out what it entails. Money is secondary.

Firstly, an occupational therapy assistant is going to do most of the actual 1 on 1 time with the clients: helping them go through their regimens and working to increase their proficiency and physical capabilities to meet various work related skill levels. You'd be following the programs laid out by the actual occupational therapist.

As far as the money is concerned, the human services has never been a high paying field of endeavor... people get into the human services because they find it fulfilling to aid others in their pursuits of better lives and the money is secondary. Let me put it this way, if your goal is to become a millionaire, the human services is NOT where you wanna be. However, if you're a "people person" and enjoy helping others, than you can be happy in the social services. Maybe on your "off hours," you can build or invent that "better mouse trap" that makes you a cool million... who knows...

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