Enhancing Collaboration Between Occupational Therapists and Early Childhood Educators Working with Children on the Autism Spectrum

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are on the rise. With this increase in prevalence and in related inclusive placements comes the need for research-based, collaborative, and high-quality early intervention strategies to promote the learning of children with ASD. Occupational therapists (OTs) are uniquely positioned to address many of the difficulties children with ASD experience. It is essential that OTs and early childhood classroom teachers collaborate effectively to ensure maximum benefit for such students. However, educators and OTs are often faced with circumstances that may pose challenges to their successful collaboration. The purpose of this article is to offer feasible and effective collaboration strategies that OTs and early childhood teachers can apply as part of their naturally occurring instructional routines to assist their mutual students with ASD.