Strengths-based OT for Autistic People

If you are an occupational therapy professional working with autistic people, you’ve likely heard of strengths-based practice (SBP).

But, does this approach work?

And, what are the benefits of it?

In this one hour OT CEU course we will discuss a scoping review that explores these questions. As we’ll see, strengths-based interventions were related to:

• Positive social engagement

• Learning

• Self-advocacy

• Anxiety reduction

After reviewing the article, we’re delighted to welcome to the podcast the article’s lead author, Kavitha Murthi, MS (OT), OTR, FHEA (UK). She and I will discuss the practical implications of this research for your OT practice.

1. You will be able to recognize strengths-based assessments OTs can utilize with autistic clients.

2. You will be able to identify the components of a strengths-based approach to OT intervention.

• Intro

• Breakdown and analysis of journal article

  • The historical (and problematic) focus of autism research and clinical practice.

  • Why focusing on deficits is a problem.

  • The cry for change.

  • Enter: Strengths-Based Practice

  • Example of authentic Strengths-Based Practice.

  • What was the intent of this scoping review?

  • Methods

  • Results

  • Discussion

• Discussion on practical implications for OTs (with Kavitha Murthi)

  1. How did you first find OT?

  2. How did you become interested in working with autistic clients?

  3. Can you tell us the story of how this article came about?

  4. As you revisit this article, what stands out to you?

  5. The article stated that people with autism often face co-occurring mental health conditions. Can you elaborate on  why it is important to consider mental health when working with our autistic clients?

  6. The article mentioned both mental health assessments and strength based assessments you found in the literature. Can you give us examples of assessments that could be helpful in practice?

  7. If you were seeing an autistic child in an outpatient setting, what would be some of your top considerations when it comes to planning intervention?

  8. I wanted to ask specifically about intervention centered around modifying the environment. What can that look like in practice?

  9. Through the process of writing this paper, were there any stories that really stood out to you and impacted how you think about supports for autistic people?

  10. What do you see as coming next in the strengths-based practice movement?

Primary

• Strengths-based practice to enhance mental health for autistic people: A scoping review

Additional

• The impact of an independence curriculum on self-determination and function in middle school autistic students

• “We can see a bright future”: Parents’ perceptions of the outcomes of participating in a strengths-based program for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder

Supplemental Materials

Programs and theories related to a strengths-based approach

• IDEAS: Inventing, Designing, and Engineering for All Students

• Double Empathy Problem

• Minority Stress Model

• Exploring interpersonal and environmental factors of autistic adolescents’ peer engagement in integrated education

• Adding the missing voice: How self-report of autistic youth self-report on an executive functioning rating scale compares to parent report and that of youth with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or neurotypical development

Strengths-based assessments

• AIR Self-Determination Assessment

• Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM)

• Child Occupational Self Assessment (COSA)

• Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

OT Potential pays guest speakers an honorarium for their participation, either directly or to an institution of the speaker's choosing at their request. We invite guests whose expertise often comes from practices, programs, or building products in their field. Where a speaker has a financial interest in the subject of a course, we disclose it below so you can weigh it for yourself.

OT Potential's interest in this topic: We have no financial stake in this topic.

Speaker interests: Kavitha Murthi is lead author of the primary journal article explored in this course. She has no financial interest in this topic to disclose.