Occupational Therapy Aides
Also called: Certified Occupational Rehabilitation Aide (CORA), Direct Service Professional (DSP), Direct Support Professional (DSP), Independent Living Specialist, Occupational Rehabilitation Aide, Occupational Therapist Aide (OT Aide), Occupational Therapy Aide (OT Aide), Rehabilitation Aide (Rehab Aide)
Under close supervision of an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant, perform only delegated, selected, or routine tasks in specific situations.
What occupational therapy aides do
Typical tasks
- 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.
- Observe patients' attendance, progress, attitudes, and accomplishments and record and maintain information in client records.
- 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.
- Manage intradepartmental infection control and equipment security.
- Perform clerical, administrative, and secretarial duties, such as answering phones, restocking and ordering supplies, filling out paperwork, and scheduling appointments.
- Supervise patients in choosing and completing work assignments or arts and crafts projects.
- Adjust and repair assistive devices and make adaptive changes to other equipment and to environments.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Occupational Therapy Aides salary
The median annual wage for occupational therapy aides is $39,160 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $29,430 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $70,200. The mean annual wage is $44,110.
The mean hourly wage of $21.00 is 2.9× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Occupational Therapy Aides (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $39,160 → in 3 years $43,100 → in 5 years $45,900 → in 10 years $53,800 (10-year range $46,300–$62,500). The model assumes pay growth of +3.2% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Occupational Therapy Aides
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Occupational Therapy Aides? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Occupational Therapy Aides
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
Skills, education and requirements for Occupational Therapy Aides
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Education of workers
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 3 — medium preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★★☆☆☆ Fairly easy (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become occupational therapy aides
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as occupational therapy aides
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.