Occupational therapists provide services to those individuals whose ability to function is threatened or impaired. Occupational therapists assist these individuals by working with them to restore, adapt, or compensate for the skills needed to resume important roles. For example, if an individual was in an automobile accident and lost the ability to use one arm, the occupational therapist could teach the client ways to dress using one hand.
Occupational therapists work in diverse settings with a wide variety of populations.
The diversity can range from treating an individual with depression in a nursing home to treating a child with mental retardation in the classroom. Employment outlook for occupational therapists is expected to increase faster than average for all occupations through 2008.