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Healthcare Support · Updated Aug 2026

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.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
AI Exposure
55/100
Moderate

How much of this occupation’s work can be materially affected by current AI systems.

Replacement Risk
51/100
Moderate

How likely exposure is to translate into reduced human demand.

Includes provisional estimates for AI adoption pressure and labour-market resilience. How this is measured

Evidence quality
Confidence82/100
Task coverage86%

Confidence reflects task coverage, mapping and capability-evidence quality, and how much of the score rests on provisional inputs.

Task-level evidence

What is driving the score?

Occupation scores are built from the task mix—not a single prediction about a job title.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
TaskImportanceAI impactExposure
Instruct, or assist in instructing, patients and families in home programs, basic living skills, or the care and use of adaptive equipment.High
65
Maintain and promote a positive attitude toward clients and their treatment programs.High
61
Evaluate the daily living skills or capacities of clients with physical, developmental, or mental health disabilities.High
63
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.High
68
Implement, or assist occupational therapists with implementing, treatment plans designed to help clients function independently.High
63
Communicate and collaborate with other healthcare professionals involved with the care of a patient.High
64
Report to supervisors, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior.High
64
Select therapy activities to fit patients' needs and capabilities.High
58
Alter treatment programs to obtain better results if treatment is not having the intended effect.High
70
Demonstrate therapy techniques, such as manual or creative arts or games.High
70
Observe and record patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior and maintain this information in client records.High
49
Monitor patients' performance in therapy activities, providing encouragement.High
41
Perform clerical duties, such as scheduling appointments, collecting data, or documenting health insurance billings.Medium
70
Teach patients how to deal constructively with their emotions.High
52
Transport patients to and from the occupational therapy work area.High
25
Design, fabricate, or repair assistive devices or make adaptive changes to equipment or environments.High
37
Assemble, clean, or maintain equipment or materials for patient use.High
23
Most exposed

Where AI can do more

Routine, digitized, and highly repeatable tasks face the greatest pressure.

  1. Alter treatment programs to obtain better results if treatment is not having the intended effect.70
  2. Demonstrate therapy techniques, such as manual or creative arts or games.70
  3. Perform clerical duties, such as scheduling appointments, collecting data, or documenting health insurance billings.70
  4. 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.68
Hardest to automate

Where people still matter

These tasks score lowest on automation feasibility—physical presence, judgement, accountability and real-world variability all resist end-to-end automation.

  1. Assemble, clean, or maintain equipment or materials for patient use.01
  2. Transport patients to and from the occupational therapy work area.02
  3. Design, fabricate, or repair assistive devices or make adaptive changes to equipment or environments.03
  4. Maintain and promote a positive attitude toward clients and their treatment programs.04
  5. Evaluate the daily living skills or capacities of clients with physical, developmental, or mental health disabilities.05
Where else this work leads

Related occupations

Occupations O*NET links to this one. Relatedness reflects shared work, not a claim that these roles are safer.

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Beyond AI capability

Adoption and labour-market outlook

Structural factors are kept separate from raw capability so you can see what actually resists automation. Adoption pressure and labour-market resilience are still provisional models—25% of this occupation’s replacement-risk weight rests on them.

Human dependency50
Physical dependency49
Adoption pressure56
Labour-market resilience69
Methodology & sources

O*NET 30.3 occupational data interpreted through the JobsVsAI capability, automation and structural-constraint models.

Confidence82/100
CalculatedAug 21, 2026
Read methodology →