Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapy helps you to live your best life, whether at home or at work – and anywhere else. It’s about being able to do the things you want and have to do. That could mean helping you overcome challenges learning at school, going to work, playing sport or simply doing the dishes. Everything is focused on increasing independence and wellbeing. (Source: The Royal College of Occupational Therapists, 2022)
What does an occupational therapist (OT) do?
An occupational therapist helps people of all ages overcome challenges completing everyday tasks or activities – what we call ‘occupations’.
Occupational therapists see beyond diagnoses and limitations to hopes and aspirations. They look at relationships between the activities you do every day – your occupations – alongside the challenges you face and your environment.
An OT will then create a plan of adjustments targeted at achieving a specific set of activities. The plan is practical, realistic and personal to you as an individual, to help you achieve the breakthroughs you need to elevate your everyday life.
This support can give people a renewed sense of purpose. It can also open up new opportunities and change the way people feel about the future. (Source: The Royal College of Occupational Therapists, 2022)
What is sensory integration?
The term “sensory integration” refers to the processing, integration, and organisation of sensory information from the body and the environment.
Simply put, this means how we experience, interpret and react to (or ignore) information coming from our senses. Sensory integration is important in all the things that we need to do on a daily basis, such as getting dressed, eating, moving around, socialising, learning and working.
Sensory information is received from our senses, which include:
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- Sight (vision)
- Hearing (auditory system)
- Touch (tactile system)
- Taste (gustatory system)
- Smell (olfactory system)
- Proprioception (senses of body awareness and position)
- Vestibular (awareness of movement, balance, and coordination)
- Interoception (our internal sensory system that tells us what is happening inside our body, for example, hunger, needing the toilet, fatigue, emotions, etc)
For most of us, the development of sensory integration occurs when we are young as part of our normal development and in the things we do such as rolling, crawling, walking and in play; for others, sensory integration is less well developed. (Source: Sensory Integration Education, 2022)
To delve deeper into sensory issues in ASD please read our blog post which includes behavioural strategies to help support you:
What is sensory integration therapy?
Sensory integration therapy should only be carried out by a qualified SI Practitioner: this is a qualified occupational therapist, speech and language therapist or physiotherapist who has undertaken additional, rigorous postgraduate training in SI. This training involves developing a detailed understanding of the neuroscience and evidence base underpinning sensory integration as well as developing expertise in assessing and providing intervention for people with sensory integration problems.
SI therapy (or SI interventions) include structured exposure to sensory input, movement therapy, balance treatments, carefully designed and customised physical activities and accommodations (eg, changes to the environment or routine). An SI Practitioner may work with the client, their family, carers, school, other allied health professionals or employer (as appropriate) to create a ‘sensory diet’ for that specific client. A sensory diet is a recommended suite of activities and accommodations (that can be carried out both in therapy sessions and at home or school) to help give that individual the sensory input they need.
(Source: Sensory Integration Education, 2022)