How A Paediatric Occupational Therapist Can Help Autistic Children

A paediatric occupational therapy in a session with a child

The range of experiences and challenges faced by people on the autism spectrum is wide and multifaceted; the same holds true for autistic children.

If you’re a parent or guardian of an autistic child, the help of an occupational therapist can be invaluable.

Not only can the paediatric occupational therapist help the child directly through therapy, but they can also equip the family with the knowledge and skills needed to provide the child with the right environment to thrive in.

Read on to learn the different ways in which a paediatric OT can help children with autism.

Understanding Autism

Autism is a neurological and developmental disorder. It is a spectrum, so the presentations of it can vary greatly from one autistic person to the next.

However, there are some commonly observed symptoms and behaviours, such as:

Difficulty in understanding and responding to social cues
Difficulty in communicating
Restricted and highly-focused interests (aka special interests)
Repetitive motor behaviours
Emotional dysregulation and sensory processing disorder

By 2022, around 1.1% of Australians are autistic, up from 0.8% in 2018. For almost three- quarters of these people, autism presents significant disabilities.

Autistic children can find the world difficult to navigate, struggling not only to perform necessary daily tasks or schoolwork but also to interact with their peers and make friends.

How Paediatric Occupational Therapists Help Autistic Children

Here are the different key aspects in which paediatric OTs can help children on the autism spectrum:

Social Skills and Play

Autistic children can often struggle with social interactions, finding it difficult to interpret social cues and nonverbal language (e.g., facial expressions, tone and volume of voice, or whether it’s appropriate to talk about something in a given situation).

The paediatric OT can help develop the child’s social skills through:

Facilitating structured play sessions and role-playing scenarios
Teaching concepts such as sharing, taking turns, and cooperation
Using picture cards or other visual aids to help understand nonverbal language

The OT can also help the parents and carers gain a more thorough understanding of the child’s social behaviours, and how they can better guide and communicate with the child.

Developing Fine Motor Skills

Children with autism may have delayed development in motor skills, affecting tasks like handwriting, buttoning clothes, or opening containers.

Specific guided practice can go a long way in improving fine motor skills, especially at a young age.

The paediatric occupational therapist can:

Train the child’s fine motor skills with exercises like threading beads or sorting small objects.
Improve coordination and balance through gross motor activities like obstacle courses.
Recommend and teach the proper use of adaptive tools, such as pencil grips or scissors designed for smaller hands.

A paediatric OT can help an autistic child practice fine motor skills

A paediatric OT can help the autistic child with tasks that require fine motor control, like writing.

Improving Sensory Processing

Many autistic children experience sensory processing differences.

These can range from hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli (e.g., being overwhelmed by loud noises, bright lights, or certain textures) to hyposensitivity (e.g., not noticing pain or craving sensory input like spinning or jumping).

A paediatric OT works to help children better understand and regulate their sensory needs. This can be achieved through:

Structured exposure to sensory input helps children learn to process and respond to sensory stimuli more effectively.
Recommending adjustments at home or school to reduce sensory overwhelm, such as noise-cancelling headphones, dim lighting, or calming sensory corners.

A paediatric OT helping a child with sensory issues

Guided exposure to sensory stimuli can help autistic children with sensory processing.

Learning Daily Living Skills

Everyday tasks like brushing teeth, dressing, or eating can be particularly challenging for autistic children due to motor, sensory, or cognitive difficulties.

Paediatric occupational therapists work with children and their families to develop strategies that make these daily living skills more manageable, including:

Breaking tasks into smaller, manageable steps.
Using visual aids, like step-by-step picture charts, to guide the child through activities.
Practising specific self-care skills during therapy sessions and teaching caregivers techniques to reinforce these at home.

By improving these skills, children gain independence and confidence in their ability to navigate daily life.

Emotional Regulation

Autistic children can experience heightened emotions, and when they do, they may not know how to express or cope with these emotions in a healthy way.

Occupational therapy can support emotional regulation by:

Identifying triggers for meltdowns or shutdowns and developing proactive strategies to address them.
Teaching calming techniques, such as deep breathing, mindfulness exercises, or using sensory tools like stress balls or fidget toys.
Helping children understand their emotions through visual aids, such as emotion charts, and practising coping strategies in a safe, controlled environment.

Why An Occupational Therapist’s Work Important for Autistic Children and Their Families

With autism being a spectrum, there is no one-size-fits-all approach that will suit every child and their family’s situation.

A paediatric occupational therapist can tailor the therapy plan not only to the child’s specific presentations, but also to their personality.

This gives the child a secure, welcoming, and understanding space in which they can learn and express themselves, which can be crucial to an autistic child’s emotional well-being.

The paediatric OT can also help the parents and carers better understand the child and their challenges, and be more equipped to create a nurturing environment.

Would You Like to Work With Our Paediatric Occupational Therapist?

Our Paediatric OT can be one of your best allies in setting up your child for a fulfilling and independent life.

We know that these early years are vital, so we will do our best to schedule your child’s therapy as soon as possible rather than making you wait for many months.