Introduction / Rationale: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the second most prevalent childhood disorder worldwide. The DSM-5 and ICD-11 include hyper- and hypo-sensory sensitivities as diagnostic criteria for ASD. Occupational Therapists (OTs) use specialized interventions such as Sensory Integration Therapy and Sensory Based Interventions to treat children with ASD and Sensory Processing Differences (SPDs). Postgraduate training in these specialised interventions is not available in Zimbabwe for OTs. It is unclear what interventions Zimbabwean OTs are utilising to address SPDs in children with ASD since there are no postgraduate specialist training courses.
Objectives:
To explore OTs knowledge and understanding of SPDs in ASD.
To identify what specialized training OTs in Zimbabwe obtained to enable them to treat children with SPDs as presented in ASD.
To map, analyse, and describe the interventions used by OTs to treat SPDs in children with ASD.
Methods / Approach: A descriptive qualitative design will be used. A convenience sample of volunteers will be selected from OTs who consent to participate in the study. Sampling will be conducted until data saturation has been achieved. Data will be collected by means of face to face-to-face semi-structured interviews.
Results / Practice Implications: It is anticipated that OTs in Zimbabwe use diverse interventions to adress SPDs in ASD. Considering the scarcity of postgraduate training programs in Zimbabwe, OTs will likely rely on the foundational knowledge they acquired during undergraduate education, clinical reasoning derived from professional experience, contemporary research and evidence-based practice.
Conclusion / Contribution to the occupational therapy profession: The findings will contribute to advocating for establishment of postgraduate training in Occupational Therapy interventions to enhance OTs proficiency and will enrich the scant literature on Occupational Therapy interventions in Zimbabwe.