Today while working with one of my young autistic patients, the child discussed how they felt one of their stuffed animals was not feeling well after it had accidentally been left outside overnight. As an Occupational Therapy Practitioner, we are trained to use a technique called therapeutic play to help children cope with situations. So we set about building a hospital room for the stuffed animal and I had the child describe everything the sick patient would need. So we gave the toy gorilla an IV for fluids, a breathing mask and a heart monitor. The child then said that the sick patient needed a computer to get work done and a TV to watch movies so as to not be bored while recovering. It was so amazing to watch a child with autism open up and be so engaged in the concerns for something as simple as a stuffed animal. Some days it’s really easy to love my job as an Occupational Therapy Practitioner for children with Autism. #thetrueaquaman #occupationaltherapy #autism #lovemyjob https://www.instagram.com/p/By8yGrKDtSK/?igshid=qla7bldc43jk