Occupational Therapy (OT) provides a vital service to children with autistic spectrum disorder. Many children have problems integrating their sensory systems. They may have difficulties with sensory processing (sensory processing disorder) and have difficulty moving fluidly through space. Some children can often present as clumsy, for example, bumping into everyday objects. These children may have difficulty with feeding and with dressing, and many children present with problems with handwriting. These problems are many and varied, and can affect the child to a greater or lesser degree.
The Occupational Therapist offers assessments and advice, as well as comprehensive therapeutic programmes that help the child to organise their environment in relation to themselves, and also provide strategies to help them to self-regulate. These strategies can be as complex as sensory integration, or as simple as mapping their environment. All of these strategies help prepare the child towards an enriched learning environment linked to Applied Behaviour Analysis.
Our Occupational Therapist, Ailish Kavanagh, has extensive knowledge of working with children. She assesses each child and provides the appropriate therapeutic intervention in relation to the child, the environment, and in conjunction with parents and tutors. By providing a collaborative approach, this ensures that therapeutic programmes are delivered by teamwork and partnership.
You can get more information from the Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland (AOTI).