Sensory Integration Therapy

 Sensory integration(SI) is a neurological process
that makes sense of and organizes sensations from
one's own body and the surrounding environment.
 SI is necessary in order to be able to use the body
effectively within the environment.
 SI is the foundation that allows for complex learning
and behavior.

 SI is founded on the following 7 senses:
visual, auditory, touch, smell, taste, vestibular (pull of gravity)
and proprioception (body awareness and movement).
 The senses involved in SI give us information about our
external and internal environments.
 Our brain takes in the information from the senses and uses it
to form a full picture of who we are, where we are, and what
is going on around us. This picture can only be formed
through the critical process of SI.

 The normal process of SI development begins before
birth and continues throughout life as the individual
interacts with the environment.
 The majority of SI development occurs before the early
teenage years.
 The ability for SI to become more refined and effective
coincides with the aging process as it determines how
well motor and speech skills, and emotional stability
develop.
 However, in some children SI doesn’t effectively
develop and for these individuals extensive effort and
attention are required for SI to occur, without a
guarantee of it being accomplished.
 When the SI process is disordered, a variety of problems
in learning, development, or behavior become obvious.

 Sensory integration  When a child has SID their
disorder/dysfunction (SID) or response to sensory information
sensory processing disorder, is a often appears extreme and
neurological disorder that results inappropriate for the particular
from the brain's inability to situation.
integrate certain information
received from the body's sensory
systems.
 Individuals with SID are unable to
respond to certain sensory
information in such a way that
allows them to appropriately plan
and organize what needs to be
done. For most individuals this
process is automatic, but
individuals with SID instead go into
primitive survival techniques of
fight or flight and/or withdrawal.

 Sensory integration disorder can be caused
by:
› the brain not receiving messages due to a
disconnection in the neuron cells.
› Sensory messages being received
inconsistently.
› Sensory messages are received consistently,
but do not connect properly with other
sensory messages.

 The following are some signs of sensory integration disorder:
› Over sensitivity to touch, movement, sights, or sounds
› Under reactivity to touch, movement, sights, or sounds
› Specific learning difficulties /delays in academic achievement
› Difficulty in making transitions from one situation to another
› Tendency to be easily distracted / Limited attention control
› Activity level that is unusually high or unusually low
› Social and/or emotional problems
› Difficulty learning new movements
› Delays in speech, language, or motor skills
› Physical clumsiness or apparent carelessness
› Impulsive, lacking in self-control
› Inability to unwind or calm self
› Poor self concept / body awareness

 In real life some of the previously listed symptoms can be
seen if your child avoids touching, refuses to wear certain
clothing, is a picky eater, covers his/her ears or eyes, or
conversely, craves sensations like grabbing others, prefers
hot bath water and spicy foods, and seem oblivious to
sensory cues.
 Oversensitivity or undersensitivity to movement sensation?
For example: your child seeks out movement like
swinging, twirling, jumping, or avoids active games.
 Unusually high or low activity level? For example: your
child may be constantly on the go, wearing out everyone
around him/her or moves slowly and tires easily, showing
little interest in the world.
 Problems with motor coordination? For example: he/she
may be awkward, seemingly careless, or accident-prone.

 SID is often associated with the following disabilities and
disorders:
› Autism spectrum
› Learning disabilities and ADHD
› Language disorders
› Behavioral disorders
› Anxiety disorders and depression
 Factors that contribute to SID include: premature birth, autism
and other developmental disorders, learning disabilities,
delinquency and substance abuse due to learning disabilities,
stress-related disorders, and brain injury.
 The two biggest contributing conditions are autism and
ADHD.
 Some researchers question whether SID is a disorder that can be
presented as a separate diagnosis or if it is simply a symptom of
other disorders.

 Evaluation for SID may be conducted
by a qualified occupational or physical
therapist.
 During an evaluation the therapist
usually uses standardized testing as well
as observations of responses to sensory
stimulation, posture, balance, coordina
tion, and eye movements.
 After the evaluation the therapist
analyzes the data and considers
information from other professionals
and the parents before making a
diagnosis and recommendations about
treatment.
 Sensory integration therapy (also
known as the “sensory diet”) is the
conventional treatment used for SID
and it allows the vital sensory input and
experiences that children with SID need
to grow and learn. The sensory
integration therapy is designed to meet
the individual needs of the child’s
nervous system.

 Sensory integration therapy began with the research and practice of A.
Jean Ayres who was an occupational therapist who had advanced
training in neuroscience and educational psychology.
 Ayres was interested in the relationship between children’s sensory
systems, the processing of sensation, learning and motor difficulties.
 The term sensory integration was made popular by Ayres.
 The Southern California Sensory Integration Tests (SCSIT) was developed
by Ayres as a means to assess the components of sensory integration
and guide treatment. The Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests (SIPT) is the
revised edition of the SCSIT and is known as the “gold standard,” most
thorough and well-researched means for assessing sensory integration
skills and deficits
 Ayres developed theories about typical patterns of disability based on
results from her testing and observations of children. Based on her
research Ayres created methods of treatment for specific patterns of
disability using what she called enhanced sensory experiences. Ayres
methods and therapies later came to be known as sensory integration
therapy.

 Most children are able to learn to combine their senses without being aware
of it. However, some children with SID are not able to combine their senses
effectively and because of this they have a difficult time making sense of
their environment. For children with SID, a form of occupational therapy
called sensory integration therapy can be used to help.
 Sensory integration therapy is designed to stimulate and challenge the
senses. Sensory integration therapy is sometimes conducted in a special
room that is designed to interact and challenge all the senses at once,
however sensory integration therapy techniques can be used in any setting
to activate one or more senses.
 Sensory integration therapy is founded on the assumption that the child
being treated is either understimulated or overstimulated by the
environment. Therefore, therapy aims to increase the ability of the brain to
process various sensory information and allow the child to function better in
their daily environment and daily activities.
 Research suggests that sensory information received from the environment is
critical in such a way that interactions between the child and the
environment shape the brain and influence learning. Additionally, research
suggests that in response to sensory input from the environment the brain
can change, and rich sensory experiences can stimulate change in the
brain.

 Sensory integration therapy is founded on four
principles:
 The child must be able to successfully meet the
challenges that are presented through playful
activities (Just Right Challenge).
 The child adapts her behavior with new and
useful strategies in response to the challenges
presented (Adaptive response).
 The child will want to participate because the
activities are fun (Active Engagement).
 The child's preferences are used to initiate
therapeutic experiences within the session
(Child Directed).

 Sensory integration therapy is designed in such a way that
makes the child want to run, play and explore.
 During sensory integration therapy the child works with an
occupational therapist, and sometimes other peers, in
order to perform activities that combine sensory input with
motion, such as:
› Swinging in a hammock (movement through space);
› Dancing to music(sound);
› Playing in boxes filled with beans (touch);
› Crawling through tunnels (touch and movement through space);
› Hitting swinging balls (eye-hand coordination);
› Spinning on a chair (balance and vision); and
› Balancing on a beam (balance).
› In every activity the child is guided through it in a way that is
stimulating and challenging. The focus is to combine appropriate
movements with the input the child is getting from their different
senses.

 For a video showing some sensory
integration therapy techniques use the
link below:
› http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02JlnqU
hXeU

 Research on the effectiveness of sensory
integration is limited and inconclusive.
 In the literature on sensory integration
therapy, there is a lot of controversy about the
effectiveness of sensory integration therapy.
 About half of the literature concludes that
there are no benefits associated with the use
sensory integration therapy and the other half
find significant results.
 Much of this controversy could be due to the
fact that there are very few well-designed
studies to gain evidence from.

 Sensory integration therapy is not harmful, but some children
may be uncomfortable with some forms of sensory therapy used
and so the occupational therapy should be observant and
ready to remove any exercises that prove to be an issue.
 Since sensory integration therapy is not harmful, even though the
jury is still out on the effectiveness, it is commonly used and many
experts swear by it.
 Some suggest that sensory integration therapy is more useful for
younger children or that it may only be effective on some
children and not others, because of this they suggest the
therapy should be discontinued if effects are not apparent
during a specified time frame or if the child has a negative
reaction.
 In many instances sensory integration therapy has made a
difference in the life of the child by allowing for decreased
sensitivities to touch and other stimuli and by better preparing
the child to play, learn and interact with people and the
environment.

 Although the research is inconclusive in regards to the
effectiveness of sensory integration therapy, it is a
common technique used to treat children with autism
spectrum, learning disabilities, ADHD, language
disorders, behavioral disorders, anxiety disorders and
depression.
 Many occupational therapists and families of children
with sensory integration difficulties do testify towards the
effectiveness of sensory integration and could tell many
success stories.
 There are many children who have benefited from the
services of sensory integration therapy and the
effectiveness may rely less on the specific disorder the
child has, but instead have more to do with individual
differences within the children it is used with.

 There is a great deal of information related to
sensory integration, sensory integration
disorders, and sensory integration therapy
online and in the research.
 In order to keep this presentation a
manageable manner, many things have been
left out. If you would like more elaborate and
detailed information you can use the resources
listed in the references or refer to a multitude of
scholarly articles.
 I hope this presentation has presented a good
and useful base of knowledge.

 http://autism.healingthresholds.com/therapy/sensory
-integration
 http://www.integratedtherapy.net/sensoryintegration
/
 http://medical-
dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Sensory+Integration
+Disorder
 http://www.brighttots.com/sensory_integration.html
 http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/sensory-
room.html
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02JlnqUhXeU
 http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/
2012/05/23/peds.2012-0876
 http://www.ldonline.org/article/5612/

Sensory Integration Therapy

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