Life Skills Clinic
What Is Occupational Therapy?
The word "occupation" in occupational therapy does not mean employment, but the tasks you do every day: What occupies your time or attention. The goal of occupational therapy is to assist you or your loved one become fully engaged in life, prepared for challenges and successes.
Occupational therapy helps people with a variety of areas including (but not limited to):
- self-care,
- play,
- work,
- school, and
- community.
How Can Occupational Therapy Help Me?
We focus our therapy on your individual needs. We can help you meet goals like:
- completing dressing and grooming,
- participating socially with peers,
- age appropriate play,
- eating a variety of food with utensils,
- completing chores or household management tasks independently,
- return to work, and
- cook for your family.
Our occupational therapists at the University of Utah Life Skills Clinic work with people of all ages to evaluate each situation and organize a treatment plan which leads to greater independence and satisfaction with the activities that they want and need to do as part of his or her daily routine.
Services
Parents & Caregivers, Come Join us!
Summer Groups:
Come have summer fun as we target support in key developmental areas.
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Dates: June 10-July 17th
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Time:
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Tuesdays: 9:00-10:30 (ages 4-6); 11:00-12:30 (ages 7-8)
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Thursdays: 9:00-10:30 (ages 9-11); 11:00-12:30 (ages 12-14
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Where: Life Skills Clinic
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Cost: $400.00
Adulting 101
Join us for six weeks as we sharpen essential life skills.
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Dates: June 11-July 16th
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Time: 1:30-3:00PM for ages 15-17 3:00-4:30 PM for ages 18:25
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Where: Life Skills Clinic
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Cost: $40.00
Life Skills Clinic – Summer Groups Enrollment Criteria
To ensure all participants can fully benefit from our therapeutic group experience and contribute meaningfully to group activities, every participant must meet certain enrollment criteria.
General Enrollment Criteria (All Groups):
- Verbal Communication
- Participants must be verbal and able to communicate using words or simple phrases to express needs, thoughts, and emotions.
- Receptive Understanding
- Participants must be able to understand and follow simple verbal directions (1–2 steps), with minimal prompting.
- Group Participation
- Participants must be able to engage in structured group activities and tolerate being in a small group setting without frequent disruptive behavior or the need for constant 1:1 support.
- Social Readiness
- Participants should be able to contribute to simple group conversations or peer interactions (e.g., greeting peers, answering questions, taking turns).
- Behavioral and Safety Requirements
- Participants must not engage in aggressive, unsafe, or severely disruptive behaviors that could interfere with the group experience or compromise safety.
- Diagnosis & Level of Support
- Participants with Autism Spectrum Disorder should be diagnosed as Level 1 or Level 2.
- Children with other developmental delays are welcome if they meet the above criteria for communication, behavior, and group readiness.
Additional Criteria for “Adulting 101” Group (Ages 15+):
The demographic for our "Adulting 101" Groups are teens and young adults with a diagnosed developmental disability:
- Autism (Level 1 or 2)
- ADHD
- Down Syndrome
- Other developmental disabilities that impact functional independence
Participants should demonstrate interest in increasing skills related to community participation, independent living, and social interaction. Participants must be able to participate safely in structured group activities in a clinic-based setting with minimal support.
