Levels of Assistance Table

Note: The following are ‘traditional’ values for levels of assistance in percentages. This shouldn’t be a problem if you are say, working in acute care. However, in settings such as acute rehab (ARU), as the FIM was phased out and replaced by the CARE Tool/Section GG, the language and percentages were simplified to basically less than or more than half the effort (50%). See this article for a brief explanation and this article for detailed section GG definitions.

Term	Abbreviation	Effort OT Provides	Effort Patient Provides	Notes
Independent	“I”	0%	100%	Therapist does not need to be in the room.
Supervised	“S”	0%	100%	e.g. OT within the room of the client.
Standby Assist	“SBA”	0%	100%	Standing next to the client, but no client contact.
Contact Guard Assist	“CGA”	0%	100%	“Hover hands”, maintains contact
Minimal Assistance	“Min A”	1-25%	75-99%	Sometimes referred to as “partial assistance”
Moderate Assistance	“Mod A”	26-50%	50-74%	OT and client each put in about half of the effort
Maximal Assistance	“Max A”	51-75%	25-49%	Consider having a “spotter” standing by.
Total Assistance (Dependent)	“D” “Total A”	76-100%	0-24%	More risk for injury of OT due to high physical demand, consider additional assistance and not performing yourself.
2 Person Assistance 3 Person Assistance	“x2” “x3”	Varies	Varies	x2 means 2 assistants, x3 means 3 assistants.
Mechanical Lift	–	0%	0%	Therapists help to setup and operate the lift. Clients are dependent.

DISCLAIMER

All information provided by OT Dude is for educational purposes only and must never be considered a substitute for medical advice provided by a physician or other qualified healthcare professional. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Our content does not replace the relationship between your physician or any other qualified health professional.

OT Dude is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

OT Dude does not offer a substitute for professional legal or tax advice. If you have questions about your tax liability or concerns about compliance, please consult your qualified legal, tax, or accounting professional.

OT Dude does not make any warranty or guarantees with respect to the accuracy, applicability or completeness of accessible content. Under no circumstances will OT Dude be responsible or liable in any way for any content, including but not limited to any errors or omissions in the content or for any direct, indirect incidental or punitive damages arising out of access to or use of any content made available.

All product and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them. The content presented or generated by OT Dude are either my personal views or derived from an external resource and referenced when possible.

Affiliate links or relationships will be disclosed if there is any compensation for products mentioned on our site.

Ads are displayed throughout this website to provide you with free content. OT Dude does not endorse the companies, products, or services displayed in these ads.