By Jessica Jordan, MS. OTR/L

What Is Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy supports everything you do, from waking up to falling asleep—including sleep itself! The activities you do daily—called ADLs (Activities of Daily Living)—shape your occupations. For example, one of my occupations is being a mother. In this occupation, I am lifting, squatting, bending down to change diapers, etc. I would seek occupational therapy services if I found myself being limited (in any capacity) by completing these tasks.

Environment plays such an important role in occupational therapy because it is our lens of focus for certain occupations. For example, a student may receive occupational therapy services for something that may be limiting them in the school environment. In this environment, OTs assist students with accessing and participating in their educational environment. That may look like participating in a craft that involves cutting or imitating the classroom staff during a movement circle time activity. On the contrary, in an outpatient environment, I support many autistic individuals by coaching their bodies through motor tasks and completing task analyses for any motor tasks where they find themselves requiring support or wanting to gain more independence/ interdependence. Lastly, I believe many individuals and families seek our support due to our deep understanding of the sensory systems. Here at SUNRISE Therapies, we empower our families to understand their loved one’s sensory profile and how it may impact them daily. In conclusion, there is no one look to occupational therapy services! Occupational therapy has a lot of diversity in the profession. There is not one way to reach a goal, nor is there a specific type of “individual” or “eligibility” for OT.

How We Celebrate OT Month & Neurodiversity at SUNRISE Therapies

This might not be what you expect, but we don’t really celebrate OT month here at SUNRISE because we focus on prioritizing educating and bringing awareness to OTs and professionals every month, moment, and day! We have recently launched two courses, one specifically geared to OTs and the other targeting anyone supporting the autistic and apraxic communities to foster fortitude in themselves! The work we do, the connections we make, and the feedback we receive are all we need to recognize the positive impact we can have in the lives of those in this community. If you want to learn more about these courses, click the link here.

OT month, celebrated each April, honors the role of occupational therapists in empowering individuals to live meaningful, independent lives. It was first established by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) in 1980 and is still celebrated worldwide! AOTA typically holds its national conferences in April to coincide with this. The celebration of OT Month aligns with the historical growth of the profession, which was founded in 1917 to support individuals recovering from physical and mental health challenges. Over the decades, occupational therapy has evolved to include diverse specialities, from neurodiversity-affirming care to assistive technology and beyond. We feel honored to be one of those diverse specialities and we love the work that we do as OT’s! We will be leaning into advocating, raising awareness, sharing success stories, and reaffirming the profession’s commitment to inclusivity and empowerment this April!

Neurodiversity Affirming Care

Being neurodivergent is living, interacting with, and seeing the world in a way that is unique to each individual’s brain. Every person has strengths and challenges that are unique to their own brain structure and makeup. These differences in the brain are not weaknesses that need to be cured or fixed. The challenges experienced may cause some people to need more support than others, but they can also excel in areas that other individuals aren't so good at.

“Neurodiversity Affirming“ means embracing the differences in a person and providing them with the skills and tools necessary to make their challenges easier for them and their loved ones. It does not seek to eliminate self-regulating actions that are unique to a person, such as stimming. It takes into consideration how a person's environment and social life can make their challenges greater. Neurodiversity Affirming uses language that empowers neurodivergent people, rather than hurting their self-esteem!

Empowering Clients Through Choice and Autonomy

Here are a few ways how we apply this in our practice as OTs and during our sessions with our amazing clients.

Respecting a person's decisions about their own body, such as using hand under hand method rather than forcing them to “comply”.

Presuming the person understands, speaking directly to the person and not through a caregiver, or about them in front of them.
Understanding that communication varies with each individual and does not have to be the neurotypical way of making eye contact, “looking” like they are listening, or using spoken language.

Involving the client in decision making for the session and activities, even if that client doesn’t always have a reliable mode of communication, we are trying to hypothesize and ascertain the best course of action for that day
Understanding and acknowledging that many of our clients are experiencing a brain-body disconnect, therefore, their actions do not always represent their true intent
Speaking to neurodivergent individuals in an age-appropriate manner, using language and tone used with a neurotypical person of the same age.
Instead of expecting compliance with punishments or “reward” systems, engage with the individuals through their special interests.

Take Home Points About Neurodiversity

The term Neurodivergent is inclusive of people who were once considered outside of the "norm," allowing for the elimination of ableism and the inclusion of individuals with unique brains. Neurodiversity Affirming Approaches eliminate ideas once considered practical, it empowers neurodivergent individuals by introducing less harmful terms, presuming competence, and restoring bodily autonomy. Implementing this practice in school, home, and other social settings will provide the necessary tools for a neurodivergent person to better understand how to manage their challenges and how to embrace themselves fully. We love that this practice is embraced by so many OTs, and we will continue to advocate and be an ally for this population! OT month is a time to celebrate so many wonderful things about our practice and all the ways it is growing and embracing the autistic voices themselves through the neurodiversity movement.

Helpful Links

If you found this post helpful, you’ll love our therapy resources! Whether you’re a parent or therapist, our apraxia and autism courses are here to offer practical tools, compassionate guidance, and real-world strategies you can use every day.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 For Parents & Caregivers: Autism Training | Online Course for Parents and Caregivers

🧑‍🏫 For Therapists: Therapist Course for Apraxia and Autism | Mentorship for OTs and Therapists

🏥 Work With Us: In-Person Occupational Therapy (San Diego & Long Beach Areas) | Virtual Coaching