Occupational Therapy in Autism Spectrum Disorder

क्या आप जानतें हैं की ऑटिज़्म से पीड़ित ६० से ७० प्रतिशत बच्चों में सेंसरी प्रोसेसिंग इश्यूज भी होते हैं जिसकी वजह से वे अपने आसपास के माहौल से आने वाली सूचनाओं का सम्प्रेषण ठीक से नहीं कर पाते, परिणामस्वरूप उनकी कार्यक्षमता, दक्षता एवं भावनात्मक अतर अन्य बच्चों की अपेक्षा स्लो होता है.

Encouraging Proprioception/ Vestibular Skills (SwavalambanRehab) 

आटिज्म से ग्रसित बहुत से व्यक्ति स्पर्श के प्रति अतिसंवेदनशील होते है, वहीँ कई लोगों का प्रोप्रियसेप्शन अर्थात शारीरिक स्थिति एवं स्थान का अभिविन्यास सेंस कमजोर होता है, sometimes an  individual might be undersensitive to pressure which makes them difficult to process & analyse that where they belong to in space and what they are doing. 

So, people tries to compensate by indulging in physical activities like climbing, banging themselves on the wall or run round. 

प्रोप्रियसेप्शन के साथ ही ऑटिज़्म से ग्रसित व्यक्तियों में वेस्टिबुलर इश्यूज भी होते है, which arises problems with balancing & co-ordination. Often, such people will will comfort themselves by giving regular jerks as in rocking, swings, jumping or bumping on toys.!  When they do these, in a sensory world that is constantly on the move, they are giving themselves signals that have meaning, so they know what they are doing. 

Developing postural control 

ऑक्यूपेशनल थेरेपिस्ट्स विभिन्न प्रकार के प्रोप्रियसेप्टिव एवं वेस्टिबुलर क्रियाओं द्वारा सेंसरी सिस्टम को टारगेट कर इन सभी प्रकार के डिस्टरशंस को नियंत्रित करना सिखातें हैं so that the nervous system become more organised/regulated and therefore assists & enhance attention and performance of an individual. 

Coloring for Concentration

सभी ऑटिस्टिक बच्चों का माइंड और बिहेवियर एक समान नहीं होता हैं, they are hyper or hypo sensitive.  people on the spectrum find it difficult to process too much incoming sensory information.  

इन व्यक्तियों के सेंस ऑर्गन्स तो नार्मल होते हैं, परन्तु इनके मस्तिष्क की प्रोसेसिंग क्षमता सीमित होती हैं, जिस वजह से they face problem in one or more performance area. Children with autism lack the appropriate “filters” to screen out irrelevant information and this can cause meltdown as each input builds and builds without being filtered out appropriately.

किसी भी ट्रीटमेंट प्रोग्राम को प्लान करते समय एक ऑक्यूपेशनल थेरेपिस्ट को अफेक्टेड व्यक्ति की संपूर्ण जीवनशैली के साथ ही उसकी शारीरिक, मानसिक, भावनात्मक, सामाजिक, सभी प्रकार के एरियाज को ध्यान में रखना पड़ता है. OTs uses Holistic approach while desigining therapeutic plan so that all the Performance Areas of an individual will be covered. 

In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Occupational Therapist is primarily associated for developing fine-motor co-ordination skills, handwriting training, daily living activities like dressing, grooming, etc. along with  focusing on asociated sensory processing disorders, social interaction & communication skills. 

Here are set of Performance Areas which an OTist will cover -

Sensory + Fine Motor Act 

Daily living skills, such as toilet training, dressing, brushing teeth, grooming 

Fine motor skills required for holding objects/pencil grip, handwriting, art-craft 

Gross motor co-ordination skills essential in walking, climbing, bicycle riding, navigation 

Sensory Diet Calms Mind 

Perceptual/Cognitive skills like concept of Color-Shape-Size, depth percetion, attention, judgement

Proprioception like sitting/standing, posture during various activities, awareness of his or her body and its relation to others

Visual-spatial skills for reading and writing

Group Acts improves Communication skill

 Solitary Play, Group Play

Coping Skills, self-help skills, problem solving abilities 

Speech- Communication and Social skills

The aim of sensory integration therapy is to improve the ability of the brain to process sensory information so that the child will function better in his/her daily activities.

Occupational Therapists exclusively uses Sensory Diet that encompasses Sensory Activities throughout the daily routine & schedule of individual to improve focus, attention that helps in regulating and relaxing sensesory system of person thereby ensuring that the person is feeling “just right” throughout the day. Just as the body needs the correct food evenly spaced throughout the day, so does the body need activities to keep its arousal level optimal.  learn to combine our senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste, balance, body in space), in order to make sense of our environment.
A person with sensory processing disorder finds it difficult to process and act upon information received through the senses, which creates challenges in performing everyday tasks and can result in, for example, motor co-ordination difficulties, behavioural problems, anxiety, depression, school failure, etc. if appropriate treatment is not sought ( from web). 

Thus, through a varied range of Therapeutic activities, Occupational therapist can enhance functions essential for daily skills..



Stay Healthy!

Dr. Pooja Pathak

for swavalambanrehab.com