Challenges and Job Satisfaction Among Speech and Occupational Therapists Working with Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

In India, speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists (OTs) can also have a significant role in the provision of assistance to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), in both the initial phases of treatment and long-term treatment. Nevertheless, not much literature has been done to examine the issues that these professionals go through and the factors that make their work rewarding in the Indian healthcare and education settings. This paper examines different experiences of SLPs and OTs working with individuals with ASD in India. It highlights certain significant problems, such as ineffective collaboration between various types of professionals, an excessive number of patients to serve, workplace insufficiency, and the inability to receive enough appreciation of their work. Despite these challenges, most therapists are contented since they see improvement in the people they treat, work closely with families, and feel that their efforts are indeed making a difference in their work. This paper demonstrates that there is a necessity to improve the policy, train more, and offer more support in the workplace by referring to the existing research and the personal experiences of experienced therapists. The aim is to make awareness to the decision-makers in the healthcare, education and government about the issues that are of greatest importance to the well-being of these therapists and the quality of services they deliver in India.