Jesus Said:

I don't know whether to be a physical therapist assistant or an occupational therapist assistant?

We Answered:

Physical therapy is to help your strength, mobility and fitness; Occupational therapy is to help you with your daily activities.
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/rehabilita…

I suggest that you discuss the difference with an academic advisor at the institution you plan to attend. I would strongly advise against taking either of these courses online, as you really need hands-on training.

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Phillip Said:

How much does an occupational therapist assistant make in a year?

We Answered:

Median annual earnings of occupational therapist assistants were $42,060 in May 2006. The middle 50 percent earned between $34,130 and $50,230. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $26,050, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $58,270. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of occupational therapist assistants in May 2006 were:

Offices of physical, occupational and speech therapists, and audiologists $45,130
Nursing care facilities 43,280
General medical and surgical hospitals 40,060

Median annual earnings of occupational therapist aides were $25,020 in May 2006. The middle 50 percent earned between $20,460 and $32,160. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $17,060, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $44,130. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of occupational therapist aides in May 2006 were:

Offices of physical, occupational and speech therapists, and audiologists $26,960
General medical and surgical hospitals 26,360
Nursing care facilities 25,520

Virgil Said:

What does an occupational therapist assistant do during the average work day?

We Answered:

I'm about to go back to school for this also so I've done a TON of reserach on this. Occupational Therapist Assistants help Occupational threapist.

Where physical therapy is like helping someone walk again, your job will be to help people figure out how to get from a bed to a wheelchair, or to hold a pen again so they can write after a stroke, learn to open a jar again, things that will improve the quality of their lives. That's just a few examples, but you get the point.

So, say you work in a ot's office, a client comes in and the OT evals them and makes a game plan of treatment and therapy, it's then YOUR job to make sure they do it. The job of and OTA is very rewarding because you get to stay with these people during progress. The OT is going to see them when they come in, or when it's time to re-eval them.

If you don't really like people and don't have the patients to do the OTA stuff, maybe you should look into being an OT,but if you LOVE people and can't wait to see how rewarding it is to watch someone's day to day progress, THIS is the job for you!

Good luck and let us know how you're progressing!

Teresa Said:

What is the difference between an occupational therapist assistant and a physical therapist assistant?

We Answered:

Mainly the difference is the focus of the therapy, physical therapy concentrates on movement and ambulation. Occupational is the activities of living such as the ability to feed and dress yourself, in very broad basic terms. Most are associate degrees and are applied sciences and require basic core curriculum such as English, History, etc. With Anatomy and physiology class too. Talk to your local college as different programs require different core courses and prerequisites. Some programs have to be applied for and awarded. Good luck.