Discover how occupational therapists can work to provide comprehensive and effective services for children and teens with Autism. Learn more!

<h1>Occupational Therapy Approaches for Students with Autism </h1>There is a common misperception that when working with students with autism spectrum disorder, occupational therapists should focus primarily on sensory and motor skills (<a href="https://research.aota.org/ajot/article/69/5/6905170010p1/6032/Occupational-Therapy-Meeting-the-Needs-of-Families" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">American Journal of Occupational Therapy</a>). While sensory and <a href="https://www.crosscountry.com/blog/visual-motor-skills-activities-and-goals-for-occupational-therapy?" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">motor skills</a> are critical for activities of daily living and should be a significant part of occupational therapy interventions, OTs can offer so much more. Here's how occupational therapists can work to provide comprehensive and effective services for children and teens with ASD.<h2>Occupational Therapy for Autism</h2>Occupational therapy's domain encompasses activities of daily living or the "occupations" of individuals. For children, this includes play, social participation, sleep, family routines, self-care, school and more. To address these domains, occupational therapists can employ a range of approaches, including:<ul><li>Sensory integration therapy</li><li>Play therapy</li><li>Modeling</li><li>Behavior strategies</li><li>Assistive technology</li></ul> Here, we’ll define these approaches, provide details on how they work and share some examples of how they can be used to help students with autism.<h3>1. Sensory Integration Therapy for Students with Autism</h3>Sensory integration therapy (SIT), conceptualized by Jean Ayers, Ph.D., in the 1970s, is intended to help students with <a href="https://www.crosscountry.com/blog/how-to-create-a-sensory-friendly-classroom?" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sensory processing difficulties</a>. An estimated 90-95% of children with autism experience sensory processing issues (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6371421/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Randell et al</a>). Sensory processing disorders can make life very difficult for children and their families. A new study backs anecdotal reports from parents that SIT improves daily functioning in their children (<a href="https://link.springer.com/journal/10803" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders</a>).How sensory integration therapy works: According to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559155/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Guardado et al.,</a> "During play, 'the just-right challenge' is provided through sensory-motor activities. ASI is commonly used to help in children's developmental, behavioral, and learning issues such as ASD…SIT positively affects the child's response to sensation by reducing stress, increasing adequate adaptive responses to sensory stimuli, concentrations, and social interactions."Examples of sensory integration therapy: SIT activities provide vestibular, proprioceptive, auditory, and tactile stimuli during play and can include (<a href="https://nationalautismresources.com/sensory-ot/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">National Autism Resources</a>) :<ul><li>Balls</li><li>Bean bags</li><li>Bouncy bands</li><li>Brushes</li><li>Chewables</li><li>Fidgets</li><li>Hammocks</li><li>Putty</li><li>Swings</li><li>Trampolines</li><li>Weighted vests</li></ul><h3>2. Play Therapy for Students with Autism</h3>Play therapy is an outstanding way to help children with ASD strengthen activities of daily living. According to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9850869/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Elbetagi et al.,</a> "Play is usually significantly impaired in children with autism. Play therapy is mainly intended to help children to honor their unique mental abilities and developmental levels."How play therapy works: "The main aim of play therapy is to prevent or solve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal child-healthy growth and development. Play therapy helps children with autism engage in play activities of their interest and choice to express themselves comfortably. It changes their way of self-expression from unwanted behaviors to more non-injurious expressive behavior using toys or activities of their choice as their words. Play therapy also helps those children to experience feeling out various interaction styles" <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9850869/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Elbetagi et al.</a>Examples of play therapy for children with autism: The occupational therapy community continually shares activities for <a href="https://www.crosscountry.com/blog/play-based-occupational-therapy?" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">play therapy</a> online. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLeTNnVr84c" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">OT Closet</a>, for example, has a video demonstrating indoor play activities on a budget that are great for OTs to use with pre-schoolers:<ul><li>Fine motor skills – Take toothpicks out of the dispenser and arrange them in play-doh</li><li>Prewriting – place tape on colored paper and have students copy shapes with markers</li><li>Use Q-tips dipped in paint to dot out names on pre-drawn lines</li><li>Self-care – Have kids pull pop-out tubes over their feet to strengthen skills in putting on socks</li><li>Numbers – Use dice and magic erase boards to circle target numbers</li><li>Trace numbers on large cards with finders, then roll play-doh into the shapes of the numbers</li></ul><h3>3. Modeling for Students with Autism</h3>Through modeling, the occupational therapist demonstrates to students step-by-step how to perform a skill. They both tell and show students how to complete activities. Videos can also be used in modeling.How modeling works: "In-vivo modeling, video modeling, and audio modeling are well-established teaching methods for individuals with autism. They have been shown to be effective in teaching social and play skills, self-help skills, communication skills, and skills used in perspective taking" (<a href="https://online.regiscollege.edu/blog/aba-therapy-examples/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Regis College</a>).Examples of modeling for students with autism: Occupational therapists can model the following activities for students:<ul><li>Grooming</li><li>Putting on socks and shoes</li><li>Teeth brushing</li><li>Playing</li><li>Throwing</li><li>Catching</li><li>Eating</li><li>Handwriting</li><li>Meeting someone new</li><li>Shaking hands</li><li>Taking turns</li></ul><h3>4. Behavior Strategies for Students with Autism</h3>Behavior strategies help students with autism learn to better interact with their environment. Occupational therapists can adapt their own behaviors to help elicit desired <a href="https://www.crosscountry.com/blog/sensory-vs-behavior-disorders?" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">behaviors</a> from students.How behavior strategies work: OTs implement various individualized strategies that help students deal with transitions, interact with others, follow rules and more.Examples of behavior strategies for students with autism: To help students achieve desired behaviors, OTs can (<a href="https://ibcces.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">IBCCES</a>):<ul><li>Prepare students for transitions</li><li>Set expectations, be consistent and follow through</li><li>Acknowledge compliance with your requests</li><li>Give choices</li><li>Use schedules</li><li>Distract and redirect</li><li>Role-play desired behaviors</li><li>Teach turn-taking</li></ul><h3>5. Assistive Technology for Students with Autism</h3>Assistive technology (AT) is "any item, piece of equipment, software program, or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of persons with disabilities" (<a href="https://www.atia.org/home/at-resources/what-is-at/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ATIA</a>).How assistive technology works: OTs provide students with low-, mid- or high-tech equipment that helps them with speaking, typing, reading, writing, pointing, remembering, hearing, learning or other functions.Examples of assistive technology for students with autism: Assistive technology for students with autism includes (Verywell, ATIA):<ul><li>Low-tech</li><li style="text-indent: 1em;">Sensory balls</li><li style="text-indent: 1em;">Picture boards</li><li style="text-indent: 1em;">Weighted vests</li><li style="text-indent: 1em;">Pencil holders</li><li style="text-indent: 1em;">Walkers</li><li>Mid-tech</li><li style="text-indent: 1em;">Visual timers</li><li style="text-indent: 1em;">Social skills videos</li><li style="text-indent: 1em;">Positioning devices</li><li>High-tech</li><li style="text-indent: 1em;">Augmentative communication devices</li><li style="text-indent: 1em;">Digital technology</li><li style="text-indent: 1em;">Special switches</li><li style="text-indent: 1em;">Eye gaze</li><li style="text-indent: 1em;">Head trackers</li></ul> There are so many opportunities and approaches occupational therapists can use to help students with autism spectrum disorder. We hope this resource proves to be a valuable addition to your OT toolkit. Visit our educator resources for more helpful articles for occupational therapists!To learn where your specialized skills are needed helping kids in exciting locations across the country, check out our <a href="https://www.crosscountry.com/education" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">school OT jobs</a> now.

A Guide to Occupational Therapy for Autism Students