{"id":1227,"date":"2019-06-28T16:08:06","date_gmt":"2019-06-28T16:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/?p=1227"},"modified":"2025-08-06T13:22:41","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T13:22:41","slug":"magnetic-promise-can-occupational-therapy-treat-autism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/magnetic-promise-can-occupational-therapy-treat-autism\/","title":{"rendered":"Magnetic Promise: Can Occupational Therapy Treat Autism?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Autism is a developmental disorder that is defined by behavioural characteristics. Some of the main features seen in people with autism are difficulties in communication, inability to play or socialize, interact with others, etc. People with autism also display sensory processing or sensory integration<\/a><\/strong> dysfunction, which affect their adaptive behaviour and participation in daily activities.<\/p>\n

Due to sensory integration dysfunction, people with autism display behaviours that hinder their normal participation in daily life. They are assigned occupational therapy<\/strong> practices to minimize the difficulties they experience in undertaking the daily activities at home and at school and to maximize their independence.
\nOccupational therapists believe that with the help of meaningful and purposeful activities, individuals with autism can be treated to increase their involvement in community participation. These therapists work with the parents, teachers and caretakers to set specific goals for enhanced social interaction and classroom performance.
\nSome of the occupation areas that are treated with occupational therapy<\/strong> are:
\n\u2022 Activities of Daily Living<\/strong><\/em> (to take care of oneself)
\n\u2022 Instrumental Activities of Daily Living<\/strong> <\/em>(caring for self and others)
\n\u2022 Education Skill<\/strong><\/em> (both formal and informal education)
\n\u2022 Work<\/strong><\/em>
\n\u2022 Play<\/strong><\/em>
\n\u2022 Social Participation<\/strong><\/em>
\n\u2022 Sound Sleep<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Various occupational therapy interventions are designed according to the tests and skilled observations. These evaluations provide considerable help to therapists dealing with the problems faced by people with autism and their families in their daily life. Some of the standardized assessment tests applied in occupational therapy interventions are for sensory integration therapy, speech therapy, play therapy, social skills training, behavioural therapy, cognitive skill, etc.<\/p>\n

For occupational therapy, the therapist observes how the child interacts with his\/her environment. Some of the areas scrutinized by the therapist before undergoing the therapy are:
\n\u2022 The attention span and stamina
\n\u2022 Reaction to a sudden change or an activity
\n\u2022 Play skills
\n\u2022 Responses to touch
\n\u2022 Posture, balance, or handling (picking or throwing) of objects
\n\u2022 Violence, and or other types of behaviours
\n\u2022 Interaction between the parent and the child
\nOccupational therapy to help a person with autism spectrum disorder<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Early intervention and treatment can help the child recover or organize the essential skills to carry out his\/her daily activities with ease. After the essential tests, the occupational therapist develops a well-planned program for the child. This ideal treatment program along with individualized care and understanding works best in treating various conditions.<\/p>\n

Occupational therapy<\/a><\/strong> combines a variety of strategies that can help a child with autism to respond better to his\/her environment. These strategies and activities include:
\n\u2022 Physical activities, such as arranging blocks and stringing beads help the child to develop coordination between limbs (hands) and body awareness
\n\u2022 Play activity is an essential part of the therapy which helps in developing interaction and communication skills
\n\u2022 Activities like brushing teeth, buttoning or combing hair help to enhance developmental skill
\nThus, the overall goal of occupational therapy is to improve the quality of life of a child with autism at home and in school. The occupational therapist helps to improve various skills so that children with autism live active and progressive lives.
\nFor more information on occupational therapy click here.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Autism is a developmental disorder that is defined by behavioural characteristics. Some of the main features seen in people with autism are difficulties in communication, inability to play or socialize, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1228,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[169],"tags":[11,78,279,275,132],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1227"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1227"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1242,"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1227\/revisions\/1242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}