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Occupational Therapy for Children with Autism

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Comprehensive Guide to Autism

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the work occupational therapists do with children with autism. It utilizes aspects of the occupational therapy process, encompassing the stages of referral, information gathering, goal setting, and intervention as a framework to outline how occupational therapists work with children and their families. The chapter provides an overview of approaches used by occupational therapists focusing on contributions to diagnosis, parent support, and the occupational therapy process acknowledging that most often therapists work as part of multidisciplinary teams whose members collaborate to optimize child and family outcomes. The chapter describes how occupational therapists might work with children and families to address issues in such areas of occupational performance as self-care (dressing, eating, toileting, grooming/hygiene, sleeping), play, and learning at preschool or school. The chapter also addresses some of the components of occupational performance that particularly affect children with autism including transitions, sensory differences, motor difficulties, and social skills issues and highlights occupational therapy approaches to these.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland St Lucia, Therapies Road, Brisbane, 4072, QLD, Australia

    Sylvia Rodger

  2. Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 160-500 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Helene J. Polatajko

  3. Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Autism CRC), Sunnybank Hills, QLD, Australia

    Sylvia Rodger

Authors
  1. Sylvia Rodger
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  2. Helene J. Polatajko
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sylvia Rodger .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Westminster, Faculty of Science & Technology, London, United Kingdom

    Vinood B. Patel

  2. Nutritional Sciences Division and Genomics Centre, King's College London, London, United Kingdom

    Victor R. Preedy

  3. Faculty of Society and Health, Buckinghamshire New University, Middlesex, United Kingdom

    Colin R. Martin

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Rodger, S., Polatajko, H.J. (2014). Occupational Therapy for Children with Autism. In: Patel, V., Preedy, V., Martin, C. (eds) Comprehensive Guide to Autism. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4788-7_57

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4788-7_57

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-4787-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-4788-7

  • eBook Packages: Behavioral Science

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