The benefits of occupational therapy for a person with autism

A person with autism needs to benefit from certain accompaniments that will help them advance in their development and comfort in their daily life. It is therefore important to call upon qualified professionals whose work can help in the long term. Occupational therapyis an essential health care profession for any person with autism.

Indeed, we have prepared an article to help you see more clearly and get advice to find a professional adapted to your needs. So don’t wait any longer to read the rest of this article!

Introduction to occupational therapy

Occupational therapy is a health care profession that aims at helping patients develop their functions, whether they are an adult or a child. A person with autism will be able to take advantage of sessions to participate in a variety of activities on a daily basis. Occupational therapy can help with tasks related to eating, learning, social skills, manipulating tools for various activities, etc.

The sessions therefore help to work on many forms of autonomy without forgetting socialization and pleasant exercises with games to draw attention to the work to be done. An occupational therapist will adapt each session to the needs of his or her patient after a precise evaluation. This allows any autistic person, child or adult, to benefit from a follow-up that will have a highly beneficial impact.

The work of an occupational therapist

Before you embark on an occupational therapy session, it is important to understand how an occupational therapist works and what they can do for a person with autism.

A person with autism of any age can learn to develop his or her abilities at his or her own pace during sessions with an occupational therapist. This concerns, for example, motor skills, attention, reactions or even the management of emotions. The work is therefore done on every important aspect of daily life in order to offer benefits day after day in the life of an autistic person. If the patient already has abilities in certain areas, the sessions will help consolidate them and bring more self-confidence.

An occupational therapist will help each patient to work on himself or herself and apply it to everyday life. For example, the sessions may involve manual activities to help the person hold scissors properly. This will eventually help the person avoid injury and feel confident when using scissors in an unknown environment. This activity will therefore have an impact on socialization.

If the sessions are done by a child, occupational therapy will allow you, as parents, to understand your little one’s functioning and to adapt to his needs for various activities. This will help your child develop and become more independent while helping you understand his or her learning. It is important to make sure that every occupational therapy session is done with fun activities, whether it is for a child or an adult with autism. This will help to generate interest and make the patient want to invest in order to succeed.

Occupational therapy therefore provides many benefits in terms of self-knowledge, autonomy, use of equipment, and understanding of the world and the people around him.

Choosing an occupational therapist for a person with autism

For sessions with an occupational therapist to be effective, it is important to choose your professional carefully. Take the time to talk to others to get recommendations from some practitioners. It is also important to choose an occupational therapist based on your needs because these professionals receive basic training before choosing certain specializations.

You should therefore check the specializations of the professional, his or her experience and background before committing yourself to a first session. Autism is not always mastered by people working in occupational therapy, so do not hesitate to ask questions, establish your expectations with precision and see what feedback you will receive. Do not forget to ask some questions about the occupational therapist’s plans. Indeed, if you want to benefit from a long-term work with an autistic person, you have to choose a professional who will not change his or her path after a few months. So don’t hesitate to question the professionals before making your choice.

Finally, be sure to choose a location close to your home so that you can easily get to the occupational therapy sessions that will provide you with many benefits over time.

COCO THINKS and COCO MOVES ©, an educational and physical for children…

COCO THINKS and COCO MOVES © is an educational application for children available on tablet and smartphone. A program with adapted games for children with cognitive disorders which will not put the user in failure.

Indeed, the games are divided into three levels of difficulty and the easy level is really very easy. Thus, the user will progress through these levels, which is very rewarding for him/her, while improving his/her vocabulary.

The COCO THINKS and COCO MOVES © application can be used during the sessions directly by the occupational therapist with the child. But it can also be used between sessions, at home, to continue practicing independently.

All the games have an audio instruction, so they are also suitable for children with autism who do not have access to reading.

Moreover, after 15 minutes of screen use, the application stops and proposes a sports break. The child will have to do physical activities and move. This dynamic break allows them to fight against sedentary life and to teach children good use of the screen.

For children with autism, this break allows them not to concentrate only on one activity, but to take a break, to move to another activity and not to isolate themselves.

…and a useful tool for working with the occupational therapist

As mentioned before, COCO THINKS and COCO MOVES © can be used during occupational therapy sessions. Indeed, many occupational therapists use this application as support during the sessions.

An occupational therapy project for a child with autism is very varied and is meant to take care of the child on a global level. The activities must therefore be adapted to each child and to each situation.

COCO THINKS and COCO MOVES © offers more than 30 games, so it can be easily adapted and personalized according to the needs.

The first difficulties that the occupational therapist will work on are those related to daily life. In this case, the child with autism may have difficulties in concentrating and paying attention, exaggerated reactions to sensory stimuli, or organizational problems. All these skills are very useful to maintain the child’s autonomy, to have a behavior adapted to the environment, but also to reduce anxiety and sleep disorders.

Here is a summary table of games to use with the occupational therapist, according to the different stages of autism.

Another goal of the therapeutic project for an occupational therapist working with autistic children is often motor skills.

Children with autism often exhibit involuntary stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms or use of language, called stereotypies. These movements appear mainly when the child is stressed or in a difficult situation and they have a reassuring function.

In addition, in the movements of everyday life one can see an impulsiveness to act, which can put the child in danger.
The objective of the occupational therapist is therefore to allow the children to learn to know their body and to manage their movements.

Children with autism also have difficulties with relationships and communication. They tend to isolate themselves and have difficulty understanding the emotions of others.

In terms of communication, they tend to talk only about topics that are interesting to them and they do not understand irony or the hidden meanings of words.

Find out more about our programs adatped for children, adults seniors with autism

SCARLETT

A version for autistic adults and seniors with severe cognitive disorders

Focus on the COCO THINKS and COCO MOVES app

for autistic children