Why Do Kids With Autism Benefit From Occupational Therapy?

Autism is a complex neurological disorder that primarily affects socialization and language. However, children with autism often have developmental delays in fine-motor, gross-motor, self-help, and play skills and many have sensory integration problems. Occupational therapy can help address these delays.

Fine-motor Skills

• Children with autism often have delays with fine-motor development. Occupational therapists can design therapy sessions to help children with autism practice completing tasks such as buttoning, zipping, cutting with scissors, and handwriting. Activities that may be used to improve fine-motor skills include lacing games, stringing beads, and completing puzzles. (See Reference 1)

Gross-motor Skills

• Children with autism may have difficulty with gross-motor skills. Occupational therapy can help teach gross-motor skills such as walking, kicking a ball, throwing a ball, and riding a bike. (See Reference 1)

Self-help Skills

• Often, children with autism have difficulty with self-help skills such as brushing their teeth, brushing their hair, bathing, and toileting. Occupational therapists can help teach these skills to children with self-help delays. (See Reference 1)

Play Skills

• Occupational therapy may also address play skills. Children with autism may have difficulty interacting with peers appropriately during play times; occupational therapy can explicitly teach these children how to play.

Sensory Integration

• Some children with autism may have difficulties with sensory integration because their brain has difficulties processing what they see, hear, touch, smell and taste. Occupational therapist can use strategies such as massage, bouncing, swinging, and firm touching to help children with autism improve sensory integration. (See Reference 2)