# Occupational Therapy Assistants

> Assist occupational therapists in providing occupational therapy treatments and procedures. May, in accordance with state laws, assist in development of treatment plans, carry out routine functions, direct activity programs, and document the progress of treatments. Generally requires formal training.

- **SOC code:** 31-2011.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-31-2011-00
- **Also known as:** Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant (COTA), Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA), Licensed Occupational Therapy Assistant (LOTA), Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA), Acute Care Occupational Therapy Assistant (Acute Care OT Assistant), Certified Occupational Assistant, Licensed Occupational Therapist Assistant (LOTA), Occupational Therapist Assistant (OTA)
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- 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.
- Implement, or assist occupational therapists with implementing, treatment plans designed to help clients function independently.
- Report to supervisors, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior.
- Monitor patients' performance in therapy activities, providing encouragement.
- Observe and record patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior and maintain this information in client records.
- Select therapy activities to fit patients' needs and capabilities.
- Attend continuing education classes.
- Aid patients in dressing and grooming themselves.
- Evaluate the daily living skills or capacities of clients with physical, developmental, or mental health disabilities.
- Communicate and collaborate with other healthcare professionals involved with the care of a patient.
- 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.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Customer and Personal Service _(knowledge)_
- Psychology _(knowledge)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Education and Training _(knowledge)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Speaking _(essential_skill)_
- Social Perceptiveness _(transferable_skill)_
- Service Orientation _(transferable_skill)_
- Written Expression _(ability)_
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Psychology _(Specialized Skill)_
- Social Perceptiveness _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Time Management _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Learning Strategies _(Specialized Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- eClinicalWorks EHR software _(hot technology)_
- Facebook _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Access _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Windows _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Billing software
- Bookkeeping software
- BrainTrain Captain's Log

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 31st percentile (Low) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 40th percentile (Moderate) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 35th percentile (Moderate) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 25th percentile (Low) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 17th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 19.2% growth (Growing fast); 7.2k annual openings; 49.2k → 58.7k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $68,340; 47,910 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** 23% automation, 71% augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 4.0 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** learning.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Teach patients how to deal constructively with their emotions. _(3.4% of measured AI use; learning)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me teach patients how to deal constructively with their emotions.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-31-2011-00_