Interventions enhancing daily living skills for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. : A systematic Literature Review from 2010-2020.

Abstract: Activities of daily living (ADL) are fundamental to participation in daily life. Even if participation is necessary for person’s well-being and development, individuals with disabilities often are not participating in basic life domains. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can have an impact on many basic functional areas such as daily living skills. The daily living skills (DLS) contain the ability of children to participate in activities such as personal hygiene, dressing, household chores and money management that are important prerequisites for self-sufficiency and autonomy. The aim of this systematic literature review was to investigate the existence and the outcomes of intervention programs which can enhance daily living skills for children with autism spectrum disorder. A search for peer-reviewed articles evaluating such intervention programs and published between 2010 and 2020 was performed. The search in several databases resulted in eight articles. The findings were grouped based on the kind and the target activity of each intervention program. Most of the identified studies have reported effective outcomes using various intervention programs for the improvement of DLS such as picture prompting, video prompting, video-game training, self-monitoring, behavioural training and therapeutic horseback riding aiming in activities such as hygiene, clothing, cooking and money management.  The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, version for Children and Youth (ICF-CY) and the Occupational Therapy practice framework were used as a base for the discussion after the analysis. Despite the number of studies found, not enough research has been done to describe and evaluate interventions enhancing the performance in ADL. The findings of this review may serve as a resource for future researchers, who are working with children in need of special support.