Occupational therapy for children with autism
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Children with autism often display strong emotional reactions to unexpected changes. As a result, they could start talking faster and louder, increase movements, or flap their hands.
Occupational therapy is usually integrated into their treatment plan to help them manage sensory input better and build skills needed to complete their everyday activities.
In this article, we’ll discuss the role of occupational therapy for children with autism. But first, let’s look at what occupational therapy is.
What is occupational therapy for autism?
Occupational therapy is all about helping children with autism develop, maintain, and enhance the skills they need to navigate their daily lives, whether that's at school or in social settings. The goal is to empower them to do this as effectively as possible.
Kids facing physical challenges due to conditions like traumatic brain injury or cerebral palsy can also gain a lot from occupational therapy.
A typical occupational therapy session includes several key stages:
1. Evaluation – Here, the occupational therapist works with the child and their family to pinpoint specific goals.
2. Creating a customized intervention plan – Next, they craft a tailored plan designed to meet the child's unique needs and help them reach their objectives.
3. Continuous assessment – It's crucial to keep evaluating the child to ensure the interventions are working and that they're making progress. The treatment plan can be adjusted as necessary to maximize effectiveness.
Occupational therapy takes a comprehensive approach to treating disorders like autism. The aim is to create an environment where children with autism can thrive. This might involve assessing their school or home settings and making adjustments to better suit their needs.
Additionally, occupational therapy includes training programs that teach children with autism how to use adaptive tools, as well as how family members and caregivers can support them. The treatment is personalized to enhance your child’s cognitive, social, physical, and motor skills.
The role of occupational therapy for children with autism
Occupational therapy is widely used for the treatment of autism due to its high success rate in alleviating sensory processing conditions. Children with autism struggle to process sensory information, which often leaves them overwhelmed, not knowing what to focus on and what to ignore. This overload usually leads to meltdowns and other behaviors that may cause self-harm.
With the help of occupational therapy, children with autism can know what information is irrelevant. Various therapy activities are implemented to target the different sensory systems.
Over time, your child’s sensory system will improve and they will respond better to the environment. This will ultimately help your child to perform better in their daily activities.
Who are occupational therapists?
Occupational therapists are people who have completed a master’s degree, passed the national certification exam, and received their license to practice. Their education and training involve evaluating, creating, and implementing the best treatment plans for their clients to ensure the best possible results.
The treatment plans often involve the occupational therapist working closely with a child with autism, as well as their parents, caregivers, siblings, and teachers. After observing your child and collecting relevant information (such as eating habits, sleeping habits, daily living skills, etc.) from you and your child’s teachers, the therapist will create a customized intervention plan that works for your child.
The functions of an occupational therapist include:
- Evaluating your child
- Consulting and working with family members, caregivers, teachers, and other members of the treatment team
- Recommending further evaluations and services as needed
- Making necessary changes to the treatment plan as needed
Performing the roles mentioned above allows the occupational therapist to involve the community in the treatment of children with autism.
One of the main advantages of occupational therapy evaluation is that it allows for the early detection of autism. If the diagnosis is made early enough, the occupational therapist can recommend treatments that may be more effective.
Occupational therapists can offer their services in schools, behavioral health programs, day programs, and in private practice.
Goals of Occupational Therapy for Children with Autism
When it comes to occupational therapy (OT) for children with autism, the focus is all about helping them develop skills that make daily life more meaningful. Here are some of the main goals:
- Improving sensory processing and regulation to help kids feel less overwhelmed and more engaged.
- Enhancing fine motor skills, which include things like handwriting, getting dressed, and handling objects.
- Fostering social and play skills, such as taking turns, working together, and interacting in groups.
- Building independence in everyday tasks like self-care and hygiene.
- Facilitating functional participation in activities like going to school, enjoying leisure time, and getting involved in the community.
How occupational therapy for autism works
A typical occupational therapy session takes between 30 to 60 minutes. The sessions are conducted a few times depending on the treatment plan and set goals.
The occupational therapist works with the child to complete tasks designed to achieve the desired results. The goal is to get the child with autism to apply the skills learned to the various challenges they encounter in their everyday activities.
Parents, caregivers, and teachers can also receive training on the different intervention measures they can take when the child is under their care. The cooperation between them and the occupational therapist is crucial as repetition is important in ensuring the child masters the skills.
How therapists assess a child’s needs:
Occupational therapists really take a holistic, detective-like approach to get to the heart of a child’s needs—especially for those on the autism spectrum:
Chat with Parents & Review Background
They kick things off by having conversations with caregivers about the child’s history, daily routines, and any challenges they’re facing at home or school.
Use Standardized Tools
OTs make use of tools like the Sensory Profile 2, BOT-2 (a motor skills test), Peabody, and others to gather objective data on sensory, motor, and daily living skills.
Observe in Real Life & Play
Next, they observe the child in action—whether it’s during playtime, brushing their teeth, or in the classroom—to see how they react to sensory input, interact with others, and handle various tasks.
Team Up with Others
They often join forces with teachers, speech therapists, and psychologists to ensure they have a complete understanding of the child’s needs across different environments.
What occupational therapy interventions may involve
Here are some examples of OT interventions:
Sensory bins - Creating a sensory bin filled with various household items of different shapes and textures can really help your child develop their language, visual, and motor skills.
Video clips - Pick some clips from your child’s favorite cartoon that showcase specific social skills. After watching, you can ask your child what they think the characters were doing, what might have been going through their minds, and how they interpreted the scene.
Simon says - This classic game can be a fun way to work on various skills. Playing Simon Says with your child encourages them to practice movements that enhance creativity, coordination, social skills, and awareness. Plus, it opens up opportunities for perspective-taking.
Playdough - Making playdough together can be a fantastic way to address some challenges related to autism. As you work with the dough, you can follow instructions and learn how to manage emotions together.
Draw a person - Grab some art supplies and draw a person with your child. Let them decide how the person should look. This activity can boost your child’s orientation, awareness, emotional understanding, vision, and motor skills.
Measuring outcomes in occupational therapy
Evaluating how effective occupational therapy (OT) is for children with autism requires a mix of standardized assessments, goal-setting strategies, and active involvement from families. Tools like the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS-II) are often used to look at different areas of a child's functioning, such as sensory processing, daily living skills, and social interactions.
Another useful method is Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), which helps therapists create personalized, measurable goals and monitor progress over time. This approach has proven effective in tracking improvements in children facing sensory processing challenges.
It's also essential to include caregivers' perspectives. Research shows that when caregivers take an active role in the therapy process, both the child and the caregiver see significant improvements.
Recent studies suggest that the benefits of OT interventions can last over time, particularly when caregivers are engaged and strategies are consistently applied.