Autism-Open Access
Open Access

Role of Occupational Therapy in Autism

Nazeer Khan^{* *}Correspondence: Nazeer Khan, Department of Social Services, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India, Email:

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Description

Occupational therapy (OT) is a type of treatment that helps patients improve their cognitive, physical, social, and motor skills. The goal is to enhance everyday skills that enable the people to become more self-sufficient and participate in a variety of activities. Play skills, learning strategies, and self-care are generally the emphasis of OT program for people with autism. Sensory difficulties can also be managed with OT treatments. The occupational therapist will start by assessing the individual's present abilities.

Children with autism frequently play in a different way when compared with normal children. They'll probably concentrate on individual pieces of a toy (such as wheels) rather than the entire product. They pretend to play in the same way as other children do. They may also refuse to play with others. However, for many children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), playing is the primary means of communication; their toys and actions may serve as their language. Play can help children with ASD learn and connect with other people in a way that they understand both youngsters and adults. An Occupational Therapeutic Assistant (OTA) may provide therapy services in specific instances. A licensed OT trains and supervises a person with an associate's or bachelor's degree in occupational therapy. The assistant works one with autistic person to help them practice skills and achieve goals set out in the therapeutic treatment plan by the healthcare professional.

Behavioral features describe autism, a developmental condition. Problems with language skills, play, and social interaction are described as primary characteristics of autism. Autism is classified as a spectrum condition because the capacities of children with autism vary widely from one to the next. Early childhood symptoms include distinct ineptitude and limited, repetitive behaviors, which are visible in the sociocommunicative area. In addition to these fundamental characteristics, people with autism often have sensory processing and sensory integration issues, which impact their ability to adapt to new situations and participate in daily activities.

Occupational therapy is a type of healthcare that treats people with injuries, disabilities, and other diseases, such as autism, holistically. Occupational Therapists (OTs) assist patients in developing, regaining, or maintaining their capacity to participate in important everyday activities, such as speaking effectively with others. To understand the patient's unique needs, OTs begins to interact directly with the patient and family. Before formulating appropriate goals and a treatment plan, they analyses the patient's physical, sensory, emotional, and cognitive capacities. The OT then works with the patient for multiple sessions or over a longer period of time, assisting them in achieving their goals. Sensory modulation issues or sensitivities are common in children on the autism spectrum, which means they may have trouble processing sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell, body posture, and balance.

This has an impact on a child's capacity to accomplish daily tasks like cleaning his or her teeth, conversing with family at dinner time, or going to recess at school. Occupational therapists assist children and people with autism to perform their daily activities more effectively. Occupational therapy (together with speech therapy and behavioral therapy) is one of the most regularly offered therapies in the school context. Occupational therapists may help with a wide range of goals, from better handwriting to play skills to sensory integration. Occupational therapists who work with children with autism spectrum disorder create tailored plans to address each child requirements because each child is unique. Occupational therapists who work in schools must focus on the requirements specified by a child's Individualized Educational Plan, whereas therapists who work in the home or community have more options.