Physiotherapy for Autistic Children

Movement concerns are very common in autistic children, with some studies estimating up to 80% of autistic kids. Autistic children often attend physiotherapy or occupational therapy to increase their gross and fine motor skills. We love working with neurodivergent children and their families and take a coordinated approach when implementing therapy.

Emotional Regulation in Physiotherapy

Children benefit strongly from a coordinated approach to therapy and this is especially true for autistic children. Emotional regulation programs such as Zone’s of Regulation or the Alert Program are commonly implemented by occupational therapists and are transferable to physiotherapy programs to help manage emotions whilst practicing exercises. Whilst these programs can be successful for some children, for others they are not. We will work with your OT on how we approach therapy to ensure a coordinated approach.

Learning New Skills in Familiar Environments

Working on a new skill can be tricky enough without the added difficulty of being outside your comfort zone. Mobile Physiotherapy is especially beneficial in providing therapy to children in a familiar location. Physiotherapy often involves prescribing exercises for families to practice at home throughout the week between appointments. By treating children in environments where they will spend a large portion of their time, exercises can be specific and easily implemented.

Gross Motor Skills

Gross Motor Skills goes beyond rolling, crawling and walking. It also encompasses skills such as running, jumping, hopping, maintaining sitting for long durations, navigating uneven surfaces such as grass or sand, climbing obstacles and playground equipment, learning to ride a bike, swimming and much more. Autistic kids sometimes demonstrate clumsy or atypical movement patterns due to reduced awareness of where their bodies are in space (proprioception), immature vestibular systems (balance system), muscle weakness or difficulty with motor planning. Achieving stability in a gross motor position can allow children to participate with peers in more challenging activities.

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills generally refers to activities that involve hands – using a cutlery, opening packets,  buttoning and unbuttoning, operating zippers, writing or drawing and typing. Autistic children often have associated fine motor delay and can benefit from physiotherapy intervention. Exercises for fine motor skills should go beyond tweezer practice or threading beads. Physiotherapy focuses on increasing endurance and stability in the posture (e.g. sitting), increasing proprioception through the shoulder/elbow/hand, increasing strength through the forearm and hand muscles, practicing motor planning and some task-specific practice.

Toilet Training

Toilet training autistic children can sometimes be more challenging as they frequently have reduced enteroception. Enteroception is the body’s awareness of the internal organs, e.g. if the bladder or bowel are full. Additionally, if children are not positioned well whilst sitting on the toilet, it can contribute to muscle tightness and difficulty relaxing the pelvic floor. A physiotherapist with additional continence training can help assess and provide strategies to help with toilet training.