Occupational Therapy focuses on overcoming challenges that may interfere with a person from participating in the activities of daily life. Every person has strengths and weaknesses and OT can provide support in reaching the best level of functional performance for individuals in both home, education, work and community settings. Occupational therapy can help in improving gross and fine motor skills, sensory processing, postural control, balancing responses, visual-motor integration, handwriting, and activities of daily living. Intervention starts with an assessment using clinical observations and standardised testing.
The assessment process may include an interview and questionnaire for the young person/parents/carers/professionals, an observation session with the young person and various standardised tests are used to measure ability
Occupational Therapist assessing at these areas:
- Visual Motor Integration and Visual Perception Skills
- Fine and Gross Motor Skills
- Sensory Processing
- Motor Planning and Motor Coordination
- Handwriting Skill
- Functional skills
The assessment is then summarised and used as a baseline for an intervention process which may direct involve individual or group intervention. Indirect therapy may include training, workshops, advice, implementation of strategies, programmes or the use of specialist/adaptive equipment or assistive technology.
Sensory Integration
Autistic individuals may have differences in their sensory processing and seek or avoid certain sensory stimuli. The sensory profile of a person Intervention can include the implementation of sensory diet and sensory programmes using the specialist OT gym equipment. Our Sensory Integration Specialist practitioners are skilled in recommending structured exposure to sensory input according to need and understanding whether more or less of a sensory stimuli is required to help a person regulate. Once a person has the correct balance of sensory information including touch, visual, smell, taste, sound, movement, gravity, balance, and internal body awareness they are more able to attend and process information. The outcome may lead to improved attention, coordination, social participation, positive behaviour and greater engagement in their community.
