Wilma L . West Library Resource Notes Outcome or the Effectiveness of Sensory Integrative Therapy in Children

This case report illustrates occupational therapy based on sensory integration philosophy and treatment principles with a severely mentally retarded/autistic fifteen year old boy. Evaluation, treatment and results are outlined and discussed retrospectively. An oral stimulation and feeding program is presented as an additional and integral part of his occupational therapy program. The integration of his occupational therapy program into his daily group home and school life is presented and the contribution of these other caregivers assessed. Shuer, J & Weiner, L. (1985). Developing pediatric programming in a private occupational therapy practice. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 2(2), 53-67. The purpose of this paper is to suggest to occupational therapists some introductory guidelines which might be followed in developing a private occupational therapy practice. Elements of a treatment program are discussed and examples drawn from a currently successful pediatric program which uses a sensory integrative approach in offering services. Components of program development addressed in this paper include the purpose and content of screening as a recruitment device, how to structure an initial evaluation and parent conference, general treatment planning and goal setting, incorporating a theoretical frame of reference into practice, as well as clinic equipment in the private setting, documentation, discharge planning and finally, concepts of marketing for the beginning practice. Outcome or the Effectiveness of Sensory Integrative Therapy in Children ~ Page 18 of 21 Carte E, Morrison D, Sublett J, Uemura A, Setrakian W. (1984). Sensory integration therapy: a trial of a specific neurodevelopmental therapy for the remediation of learning disabilities. Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 5, 189-194. In the population of learning-disabled (LD) children, there appears to be a subsample who demonstrates basic dysfunction in sensory integration. Previous research suggested that sensory integration (SI) therapy may be effective in improving the academic performance of this subsample of LD children. This study is a systematic replication of previous research on the effects of SI therapy on LD children. The 87 LD children in this study manifest moderate SI dysfunction, a vestibular processing disorder, perceptual deficits, and reading retardation. Data on a subgroup of 45 children with markedly depressed postrotary nystagmus are presented. After nine months of individual SI therapy, no systematic effects on any of the dependent variables were discernible. The implications of these findings for further research are discussed. Schaffer, R. (1984). Sensory integration therapy with learning disabled children: a critical review. The Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 51(2), 73-77. No abstract available for this record Goldstein, PK. (1983). Sensory integration groups: an effective treatment modality in child psychiatry. Sensory Integration Special Interest Section Newsletter, 6(1), 1-2. No abstract available for this record Jenkins JR, Fewell R, & Harris SR. (1983). Comparison of sensory integrative therapy and motor programming. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 88, 221-224. The relative effects of individualized sensory integrative therapy vs. small group, gross-motor programs were examined with a group of preschool children with mild to moderate motor delays. Children in the sensory integrative therapy group received one-to-one treatment twice weekly. Children in the motor-programming group received intervention four times weekly in small groups of three to four. Both intervention programs were carried out simultaneously for 17 weeks. No significant between group differences were observed in gross-motor gains on the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales or in sensorimotor gains on the Assessment of Sensory Integration in Preschool Children. Results of this study compared to results of similar previous studies were discussed. Wells, ME & Smith, DW. (1983). Reduction of self-injurious behavior in mentally retarded persons using sensory integrative techniques. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 87, 664666. Four profoundly mentally retarded, multiply handicapped institutionalized subjects with extensive histories of self-injurious behavior (SIB) received daily sensory-integrative treatment sessions that included vestibular and tactile stimulation delivered noncontingently. Frequency of SIB, as documented by direct-care staff members throughout the day, decreased significantly for all subjects. Ottenbacher K. (1982). Sensory integration therapy: affect or effect. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 36(9):571-578. The results of studies examining the effectiveness of sensory integration therapy were reviewed, using recently developed quantitative methods that treat the literature review process Outcome or the Effectiveness of Sensory Integrative Therapy in Children ~ Page 19 of 21 as a unique type of research. Forty-nine studies were located initially. Eight of these studies met the following criteria: (a) they investigated the effect of sensory integration therapy; (b) they included dependent measures of academic achievement, motor or reflex performance, and/or language function; (c) they included a comparison between at least two groups; and (d) they reported quantitative results of the effect of sensory integration therapy. The 8 studies contained a total of 47 statistical hypothesis tests that evaluated the effectiveness of sensory integration therapy. An analysis of these tests, using quantitative reviewing methods, revealed that subjects participating in sensory integration therapy performed significantly better than members in the control groups who did not receive sensory integration therapy. The application of sensory integration therapy to various client populations is discussed in relation to the existing empirical support revealed in the studies reviewed. The advantages of quantitative reviewing procedures are discussed, and use of the procedures with the developing occupational therapy research literature is recommended. Schoeder, E. (1982). Improvement in academic achievement through enhancement of perceptual and sensory integrative functioning. School Psychology International, 3, 97-104. No abstract available for this record Van Kampen-Horowitz, LJ. (1982). Effectiveness of sensory integrative therapy on vestibular & ocular function in children: intermediate report on eye tracking. The Netherlands: University of Amsterdam. No abstract available for this record Ziviani, J, Poulsen, A & O'Brien, A. (1982). Effect of a Sensory Integrative/Neurodevelopmental Programme on Motor and academic performance of children with learning disabilities. Australian Occupational Therapy, 29, 27-33. No abstract available for this record Ottenbacher, K, Scoggins, A & Wayland, J. (1981). The effectiveness of a program of oral sensory-motor therapy with the severely and profoundly developmentally disabled. The Occupational Therapy Journal of Research, 1, 147-160. The efficacy of a program of oral-motor therapy designed to facilitate feeding patterns and thus produce increases in body weight in the severely developmentally disabled was explored. Twenty severely and profoundly retarded subjects with neuromotor disorders participated in a pretest/posttest control group design. The experimental group received a 9-week program of oral therapy designed to normalize oral motor functions and reduce pathological oral reflexes. Analysis of covariance revealed no statistically significant difference in body weight gains between the experimental and control group over the treatment period. A post hoc power analysis was computed and revealed a power of approximately .35, indicating a degree of insensitivity in the experimental manipulations and statistical analysis and suggesting the possibility of a Type II experimental error. The need for continued research in this area to establish the effectiveness of sensory and motor facilitation procedures in developing feeding patterns in the severely and profoundly disabled is discussed. Ottenbacher, K , Short, MA & Watson, PJ . (1981). The effects of a clinically applied program of vestibular stimulation on the neuromotor performance of children with severe developmental disability. Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 1(3), 1-11. Outcome or the Effectiveness of Sensory Integrative Therapy in Children ~ Page 20 of 21 The effects of a program of controlled vestibular stimulation on the gross motor, fine motor, and reflex development of 38 severely and profoundly retarded, nonambulatory, developmentally delayed children were investigated employing a pretest/posttest control group design. Data analysis revealed that subjects receiving a combined program of sensorimotor therapy and controlled vestibular stimulation made significantly greater gains on measures of reflex, integration, gross motor, and fine motor development that control subjects receiving a program of sensorimotor therapy alone. Neuromotor improvements followed the progression of normal motor development and appeared to be related to the age of subjects and to the presence or absence of identifiable neuromotor spasticity. Semmler, CJ. (1981). Commentary: "The effectiveness of a program of oral sensory-motor therapy with the severely and profoundly developmentally disabled". The Occupational Therapy Journal of Research, 1, 161-163. No abstract available for this record Grimwood, LM & Rutherford, EM. (1980). Sensory integrative therapy as an intervention procedure with grade on "at risk" readers a three-year study. Exceptional Child, 27(1), 52-61. No abstract available for this record Ayres, AJ. (1979). Sensory integration and the child. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services. No abstract available for this record White M. (1979). A first-grade intervention program for children at risk for reading failure. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 12(4), 231-237. No abstract available for this record Ayres, AJ. (1977). Cluster analysis of measures of sensory integrative therapy. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 31, 362-366. No abstract available for this record Montgomery, P & Richer, E. (1977). Effect of sensory integrative therapy on the neuromotor development of retarded children. Physical Therapy, 57, 799-807. No abstract available for this record Ayres, AJ. (1977). Effect of Sensory Integrative Therapy on the Coordination of Children with Choreoathetoid Movements. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 31, 291-293. No abstract available for this record Ayres, AJ. (1976). The effect of sensory integrative therapy on learning disabled children : The final report of a research project supported by The Center for the Study of Sensory Integrative Dysfunction and the Valentine-Kline Foundation 1974-1975-1976. Los Angeles, CA: University of Southern California. Ayres, AJ. (1972). Improving academic scores through sensory integration. Journal of Learning disorders, 5, 339-343. No abstract available for this record Outcome or the Effectiveness of Sensory Integrative Therapy in Children ~ Page 21 of 21 Morrison D, & Pothier P. (1972). Two different remedial motor training programs and the development of mentally retarded pre-schoolers. American Journal of mental Deficiency, 77(3): 251-8. Compiled by Mary Binderman, MSLS American Occupational Therapy Foundation Bethesda, MD.