Occupational Therapy Aides

• Encourage patients and attend to their physical needs to facilitate the attainment of therapeutic goals.
• Report to supervisors or therapists, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, attendance, and accomplishments.
• Supervise patients in choosing and completing work assignments or arts and crafts projects.
• Manage intradepartmental infection control and equipment security.
• Evaluate the living skills and capacities of physically, developmentally, or emotionally disabled clients.
• Prepare and maintain work area, materials, and equipment and maintain inventory of treatment and educational supplies.
• Transport patients to and from the occupational therapy work area.
• Instruct patients and families in work, social, and living skills, the care and use of adaptive equipment, and other skills to facilitate home and work adjustment to disability.
• Assist occupational therapists in planning, implementing, and administering therapy programs to restore, reinforce, and enhance performance, using selected activities and special equipment.
• Demonstrate therapy techniques, such as manual and creative arts and games.
• Adjust and repair assistive devices and make adaptive changes to other equipment and to environments.
• Perform clerical, administrative, and secretarial duties, such as answering phones, restocking and ordering supplies, filling out paperwork, and scheduling appointments.

Source: O*NET OnLine information for Occupational Therapy Aides.

• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

Source: O*NET OnLine information for Occupational Therapy Aides.