Occupational, visual and auditory therapiesThis treatment for child autism involves trying to filter out the different sensory stimuli experienced by an autistic child in order for him or her to process the information better. This involves the use of different devices to help a child with autism focus one or more senses.Occupational therapists specialize in assisting individuals with disabilities such as autism to learn ways to complete common and necessary tasks. In many cases, the tasks themselves and the conditions surrounding the tasks are modified to make them more manageable for the autistic. This might mean that the therapist helps to find specialized equipment to assist the autistic with communication, or teaches him or her ways to communicate without speaking. The tasks taught are relevant to the life of the autistic and the developmental stage he or she is at. In the case of autistics, there are problems with interacting socially and communicating with others. An Occupational Therapist will first perform a thorough evaluation of the child to determine skills that are lacking or completely non-existent. The therapist will then develop a plan for overcoming the disabilities. In addition to interaction and communication problems, autistics often suffer from sensory integration problems. An autistic can be either under-sensitive or oversensitive to sensory stimulation. He or she may feel pain when hearing noises that seem normal to non-autistics. Or, the autistic may not experience pain in the same way as non-autistics, which can lead to self-destructive behaviors.  An Occupational Therapist can develop a Sensory Integration (SI) program to help the child’s central nervous system to appropriately process sensations. In developing an SI program, the therapist will focus on three key senses: Tactile: Vestibular System: Proprioceptive System: As with any occupational therapy program, the therapist will conduct a thorough evaluation of the child prior to
developing an SI program. The program will seek to enable the child to appropriately deal with sensations, which
means the central nervous system must be taught to organize the input it receives and allow the child to produce an
appropriate response. Occupational, visual and auditory therapies |