Autism Spectrum Disorder Occupational Therapy Interventions and Concepts

Vocabulary flashcards covering occupational performance challenges, sensory processing definitions, and social-behavioral interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Atypical Play in ASD

Play characterized by extreme preoccupation, unusual visual fixation or exploration, preoccupation with object features, limited flexibility and creativity, and repetitive object use, with limited spontaneous pretend play unless prompted.

Food Chaining

A behavioral feeding approach that starts with a preferred food and then presents foods that share at least one similar property to gradually increase tolerance.

Academic Alterations

Educational adaptations such as teaching via visual, auditory, or kinesthetic methods, and breaking information into smaller chunks to reduce cognitive load.

Executive Function Challenges

Difficulty generating novel or creative thoughts and actions.

Modulation

The process that helps children adapt and maintain an optimal level of arousal.

Discrimination

The ability to interpret and differentiate between sensory inputs to develop perceptions of location, identity, and timing (where it is, what it is, and when did it occur).

Praxis

The ability to conceive, plan, and organize a response or goal-directed motor action.

Functional Behavioral Analysis

An assessment used to determine the cause or reason for a child's behavior.

Tactile Over-Responsivity Interventions

Modulation strategies including moderate to heavy pressure (heavy pillows, hugs), self-directed tactile media, graded texture introduction, and providing vestibular input prior to, during, and after tactile play.

Gravitational Insecurity Interventions

Modulation strategies providing slow, graded vertical movement, equipment close to or on the floor, practicing falling onto soft mats, and using proprioception to modulate fear.

CO-OP Approach

An OT-guided executive function strategy using the Goal-Plan-Do-Check framework to facilitate skill acquisition, generalization, and self-evaluation.

Video Modeling

An individual intervention where a child watches a video demonstration of a targeted behavior—often acting out a scripted interaction—and then imitates that behavior.

Social Scripts

Written scripts practiced in real or paired situations to navigate awkward social interactions, which are compiled in notebooks and systematically faded to prevent dependency.

Power Cards

Visual interventions that incorporate a child's special interest or favorite hero in a written scenario to facilitate appropriate social behaviors and routines.

Social Stories

Brief, first-person written stories with visual aids addressing a single social issue to help literal thinkers understand social concepts, overcome fears, and establish healthy routines.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

A reinforcement training technique designed to help children perform socially significant behaviors.

Privacy Circles

An intervention that categorizes people into concentric circles by intimacy level (from parents at the center to strangers on the outside) to teach appropriate conversation topics and activities for each level.

Mind Reading

An intervention that uses drawings and photos of facial expressions to help children with ASD determine feelings and improve Theory of Mind.

Video Detective

An activity consisting of watching video clips to enhance a child's ability to interpret nonverbal communication.

Social Autopsies

A nonthreatening retroactive examination of a difficult social situation where the child describes what occurred, examines others' motivations, and discusses alternative responses.

Comic Strip Conversations

An intervention similar to social autopsies that uses comic strip drawings to illustrate and analyze a social interaction.

Stress Thermometer

A visual tool introduced during calm periods to help children recognize, quantify, describe, and regulate different levels of their emotions and behaviors.

Incredible Five-Point Scale

An intervention tool that organizes behaviors along a five-point continuum to assist with emotional regulation and behavioral management.

Relationship Development Intervention (RDI)

A parent-guided program designed to teach parents how to provide effective social cues during guided interactions to improve critical emotional, social, and metacognitive abilities.

Alert Program ("How Does Your Engine Run?")

An intervention using cognitive learning and sensory activities to teach children to recognize arousal states and expand self-regulation strategies to match task demands.

SOCCSS

A social problem-solving framework representing Situations, Options, Consequences, Choices, Strategies, and Simulation, designed to address Theory of Mind limitations.