Effectiveness of Therapeutically Applied Behavior, Language and Fine Motor Occupational Therapy Sessions for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Aged 18 Months - 5 Years

Objective To investigate that ABA based principles when applied in occupational therapy sessions can promote language comprehension, pre learning and pre-writing skills and behavior regulation in children with ASD. Method A convenient sample of 20 children with provisional diagnosis of ASD were given occupational therapy sessions with specific goals post individual assessment of verbal language and fine motor skills. The goals were individualized as per their skill set and were based on a curriculum called ABLLS. The program was implemented at SOCH CENTRE for 45 minutes every day for duration of 2 months. The intervention used techniques like shaping, reinforcements, prompting and fading for behavior strategies. Fine motor activities targeted tripod grasp, in hand manipulations, translations and strengthening. The goal attainment scale was scored as followed- 0 for no, 1 for task with prompt and 2 for task accomplished in a child. Result Inferential and descriptive statistics were used to analyze changes achieved over time and the change was statistically significant. Conclusion Sessions focusing on fine motor skills can be used to improve visual tracking and visual attention, bilateral coordination, fine motor skills, verbal language and on task behaviors.