SALT LAKE CITY — What looks like playtime inside this clinic is actually carefully structured therapy.
From stacking objects to navigating emotions, every activity is designed with a purpose.
“If our students and our kids are having fun, then they’re learning,” Aubri Evans, an occupational therapist at the University of Utah’s Life Skills Clinic, said.
For children with autism, occupational therapy focuses on building the skills needed for daily life — things like communication, motor development and independence.
9-year-old Teddy sees therapy as a place where he can explore his interests.
“I like maps, geography, animals … and everything,” he said.
Teddy has been in occupational therapy since he was diagnosed with autism at nearly 3 years old.
“He was a little bit delayed on gross motor milestones,” his mom, Crystal Stark, said. “We worked on being able to do snaps and buttons at a young age. Even teeth brushing was a struggle at one point.”
Teddy also struggled with eating solid foods and has undergone feeding therapy.
“Every child with autism has a different challenge,” Stark said.
Occupational therapy is part of Teddy’s routine — but progress doesn’t always come easily.
Sessions can involve repetition, patience and sometimes frustration, as therapists help children work through challenges in real time.
“We have been able to work on many different skills for Teddy — frustration tolerance, learning to identify emotions and proper coping with those emotions,” Stark said.
She added that many therapy programs have waitlists and encourages parents to seek help sooner rather than later.
Therapists say occupational therapy programs like this are designed to meet each child’s individual needs, often turning difficult tasks into engaging activities.
“We can find ways to make it engaging and find ways to make hard things or scary things a lot less hard or a lot less scary,” Evans said.
Over time, those small steps can add up.
“It’s definitely opened up a lot of doors for Teddy to be able to navigate this world,” Stark said. “We’re so proud of him for the progress that he’s made.”
Read more: Beyond awareness: Utah family advocates for autism acceptance as demand for services grows
This story was adapted from a TV broadcast script using artificial intelligence. Every story, including those adapted with AI, is reviewed by a human editor before publication to ensure that KSL’s editorial standards are upheld.
