Occupational Therapy for Autism Adelaide is a new world-first facility for adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Located in Mile End South, this purpose-built clinic is an extension of OTFC+, which focuses on children’s physical, social and sensory needs.
OT practitioners use cognitive behavioural approaches focusing on changes in cognition or how people think. This can improve attention and self-regulation skills in individuals with ASD.
Social skills
Interacting socially with others and maintaining relationships is essential for human well-being. It is a learned ability and is referred to as social competence. Occupational Therapy (OT) helps individuals improve their social skills through therapeutic activities and techniques. These skills can include communication, emotional regulation, friendship-making and problem-solving. OTs also focus on understanding and responding to sensory input from other people. This includes body awareness, visual perception, listening, and verbal and nonverbal communication.
People with autism can experience difficulties in various social situations, including conversations and interactions. These challenges may affect their ability to form and sustain relationships, leading to depression and anxiety. If left untreated, these issues can hurt school and career opportunities. OTs use a range of approaches and tools to help improve the abilities of children with autism and their families.
In addition to improving social skills, OTs can teach self-care and independence skills. These skills are essential for a child’s daily life, including mealtime, bathing, and toileting, dressing and grooming, and sleeping. They can also learn to engage in leisure activities and develop motor skills. OTs can teach these skills to children one-to-one or in group therapy settings.
The first step in improving social skills is identifying areas where a person has difficulty. This can be as simple as placing their struggles with eye contact, or they may struggle to start a conversation. Once the problem has been identified, a plan can be created to address the issue. This plan may involve role play and activities that help to practice the new skill.
Occupational therapy for autism Adelaide services is available in private and public health care. In addition, they can be included in an Individual Education Program at school.
Sensory processing
Processing sensory information is vital for learning and interacting with the environment. This is why sensory processing can be a crucial focus for occupational Therapy for autism in Adelaide. The sensory system involves the senses of touch, movement, taste, smell, light and sound. People with autism often have difficulty processing these senses, leading to challenging behaviour and self-regulation problems. Sensory processing also plays a role in social interactions and emotional regulation. These issues can affect a child’s daily functioning and independence in the community.
OTFC+ offers services that can help children and adults with sensory processing difficulties. These include the LIFEskills group program and the SOCIALskills group program, which teach the skills needed for daily living. These include food preparation, money handling, home organisation and safety in the community. The program is designed to improve a person’s quality of life and encourages independence.
Sensory integration is the ability to combine all of these systems into a coordinated and adaptive response. This is a critical component of occupational therapy for autism Adelaide, as it allows a person to participate in their environment and function at their best. Occupational therapists use fun activities to enable clients to experience stimuli without becoming overwhelmed. These coping strategies can be taught to the parents and carers of the client, who can then apply them to everyday situations. For example, a child with sensory processing difficulties may be able to cope in a classroom by using the desk chair bungee cord to wiggle their legs.
The results of this study suggest that sensory processing assessment tools such as The Sensory Form can help identify and target areas for intervention. The therapists’ feedback highlighted the device’s strengths, including the ease of use and clarity of the language used. It was also helpful for therapists to engage in professional reasoning when designing their interventions. These tools can help demonstrate the effectiveness of their interventions to insurance companies and others involved in providing funding.
Self-care skills
Children with autism face many challenges when learning basic life skills such as bathing, eating and self-care. They can be easily overwhelmed by stimuli in their environment and have difficulty focusing and following instructions. They may also be prone to emotional outbursts. This is why it is essential to seek your child’s help from an occupational therapist as early as possible.