Autism: work on calming strategies, dealing with unexpected situations, routine building and identifying sensory needs. Emotional regulation: identifying and understanding emotions, learning strategies to cope.

Identifying sensory over or under sensitivities, which may include oral motor (mouthing), sound or touch sensitivity, poor visuospatial awareness, picky eating or food aversion.

Work on creating a functional routine for daily life. Autism: building routines for a variety of situations. This may include visual schedules for trips to the doctor/dentist, toileting, going to a movie or birthday party, and bedtime.

Work on executive functions (ex. planning, working memory, organization and time management), sequencing, attention and focus, and learning. Learn cognitive behavioural strategies to manage anxiety.

Work on practical strategies for managing anxiety in a variety of situations. For children, this can be combined with a sensory needs assessment and self-regulation, while the focus is often on social anxiety for teenagers.

Practice a variety of social situations that evoke anxiety. For those with autism, this can mean practicing what to say, questions to ask, how to respond to others and what to expect in a given situation.