Role of occupational therapy in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

This article is based on the presentation above that talks about the role of Occupational Therapy (OT) in Intellectual Disabilities (ID) and Down Syndrome.

Nayi Disha organized a workshop with Occupational Therapist Ms. Snehal Vaidya. She addressed some common concerns observed in children with global developmental delays, Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy. She provided valuable tips and suggestions of how every parent can work with their child, with everyday objects easily available in most homes. Her detailed presentation on the role of occupational therapy in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDDs) is attached above and parents can freely download it for their use.

What is Occupational therapy (OT)?

• OT is an evidence –based practice with strong scientific research, showing its value in helping individuals thrive
• Through therapeutic interventions, OT supports people in engaging with everyday tasks that matter to them—whether self‑care, leisure, or work‑related.
• OT provides tools and strategies that help individuals do their best at home, in school, and in the community.
• OT practitioners have a holistic perspective, looking at the whole person, adapting environments and tasks to fit their unique strengths and needs.

Aspects of child development that an OT addresses 

• Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)
• Play
• Social Skills
• Cognition
• School readiness
• Motor skills
• Environmental and equipment modifications (at home settings)

Key Areas that an OT works on

The occupational therapist identifies and works on several different aspects of the child’s development to help them achieve the requisite skills.

• Sensory systems – olfactory (sense of smell), visual, auditory, gustatory (sense of taste), tactile, vestibular and proprioception (awareness of the body).
• Sensory Motor skills – Motor planning, Body awareness, body scheme, reflex maturity and postural security.
• Perceptual motor development- auditory-language skills, visual-spatial awareness, attention and focus, body hand coordination.
• Cognition – ADLs, behavior and academic learning.

By closely working on the child’s developmental skills—like sensory‑motor abilities and perceptual‑motor growth— we can see positive impacts in key areas of your child’s life:

• Motor skills: By using different activities, an OT can help develop different motor skills of a child

1. Gross motor skills: Balance, running, coordination, running and jumping
2. Fine motor skills: Grasping, pinching, cutting
3. Oral motor skills: Chewing, blowing, sipping 
4. Visual motor skills: handwriting, sports

An OT may work on achieving these skills by planning different activities such as whole  body movements, exercises to work on shoulder, forearm and wrists, sensory exercises for the hands.

• Activities of daily living (ADLs) – One of the most important skills that the OT can help improve – is the ability to perform everyday tasks such as bathing, brushing, dressing etc. or the ADLs. ADLs can be categorized into 2 broad categories:

1. BADL: Basic ADLs – These are the basic self care skills that are important in our everyday life like brushing, dressing etc.
2. IADL: Instrumental ADLs – These are more complex tasks that go beyond ADLs and self care. These skills are essential for independent living.  Some examples include cleaning, doing laundry and shopping.

• Play: Play is an effective method often used in OT to help support children learn new skills and aid them in their growth and development. Children can learn through many different types of play such as:

1. Unoccupied play: Child friendly household play
2. Solitary play: Cardboard boxes, train sets, kitchen play sets
3. Parallel play: sticker books, stacking and sorting to name a few
4. Associative play: Legos
5. Cooperative play: Puppet play

• School Readiness

School preparedness is a crucial component of a child’s progress. OT often helps with important aspects including:

1. Fine motor skills like working pencil grips, scissor and cutting skills, 
2. Pre writing skills
3. Writing skills
4. And other important skills including sensory sensitivities, social interaction.

OT helps children develop the necessary skills to progress and develop independently with the help of tailored methods to suit their individual needs.

For more help, you can see the video on what is occupational therapy. 

Additionally, you can also see the presentation on occupational therapy hacks for menstruation in children with special needs.

If you have questions about Autism, Down Syndrome, ADHD, or other intellectual disabilities, or have concerns about developmental delays in a child, the Nayi Disha team is here to help. For any questions or queries, please contact our FREE Helpline at 844-844-8996. You can call or what’s app us. Our counselors speak different languages including English, Hindi, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, and Bengali.

DISCLAIMER: Please note that this guide is for information purposes only. Please consult a qualified health practitioner for safe management.