Occupational Therapy with an ASD
Occupational therapy focuses on enhancing participation in daily living activities. This includes feeding, dressing, as well as communication and social interaction. Occupational therapy has been a saving grace for us.
Within 2 months of expressing concerns about Roo’s behaviors, we were being evaluated by an OT/PT that specializes in children on the Autism spectrum. Our first 4 visits were specifically for evaluation, to determine if Roo actually needed any intervention, but after the first visit the Occupational Therapist shared with me that Roo would benefit greatly.
As a chronic worrier and the grandchild of a self-proclaimed hypochondriac, it was somewhat comforting to know that we were exactly where we needed to be. Within those evaluation visits her OT pushes Roo’s boundaries on categories that I identified on the intake paperwork to determine what interventions would work best.
It was very clear early on that in addition to displaying some clear ASD symptoms she was also struggling with a sensory processing disorder. This helped explain why Roo refused to swing, ride a bicycle, and her fear of heights.
After the evaluation period and trust was established between Roo & the OT we dove into the work. The first thing the OT wanted to face head on was the symptoms of anxiety that came with the sensory processing disorder. Her primary tool for facing this was with climbing obstacles and the use of cocooning activities that allowed Roo to feel safe.
Initially Roo was very resistant to anything that required her to leave her comfort zone, but over time we started to see some significant changes!
Within 1.5 months of starting therapy Roo was excited to try the swings at her appointments, and within 2 months she started riding her bicycle even though we never directly worked on bike riding skills.
As the past 4 months have zoomed by Roo is so much more confident when it comes to confronting her sensory symptoms, as it relates to play. She even rode her first “big girl” roller coaster when we went to Disneyland!
But as with many things, once you overcome one hurdle there are many others waiting in the wings. Our goals are to now focus on her impulse control symptoms.
Roo has an extremely hard time stopping herself from doing something once her mind is set on it. Initially we thought that it was just what 5 year olds did, but when it kept coming up even in OT sessions we learned that it was in fact an impulse control issue.
Her impulse control issues co-exist with what the OT has identified as ADHD symptoms. The two symptoms together cause her to not be able to stay still or focus on one thing for a log period of time, and when she is faced with a task such as waiting in line she begins to show aggressive behavior.
This pushes the need for an evaluation from either a neurosurgeon who can evaluate the ADHD symptoms or a holistic evaluation through the Autism center (we are STILL on the waiting list).
But for now we will relish in the fact that she is able to confidently do a lot of things that would not have dreamed of her doing 5 months ago!
