Making sense of sensations
Parents of children with autism are increasingly turning to sensory integration treatment to help their children deal with the disorder, and they’re seeing good results. In 2007, 71%of parents who pursued alternatives to traditional treatment used sensory integration methods, and 91% found these methods helpful.
A new study from Temple University researchers suggests that children with autistic spectrum disorders who undergo sensory integration therapy exhibit fewer autistic mannerisms compared to children who received standard treatments. Such mannerisms, including repetitive hand movements or actions, making noises, jumping or having highly restricted interests, often interfere with paying attention and learning.
Sensory integration is the ability of the brain to properly integrate and adapt to the onslaught of information coming in through the senses, and dysfunction in this area makes it difficult for children with autism to adapt to and function like others in their environment. They may be hypersensitive to sound or touch, or unable to screen out distracting noise or clothing textures. Their response might be impulsive motor acts, making noises or running away.
Children receiving sensory integration therapy typically participate in sensory-based activities to enable them to better regulate their behavioral responses to sensations and situations that they find disturbing or painful. A child who is oversensitive to light touch may enjoy rolling and playing in a giant foam pillow, after which he might be more able to calmly explore, touch and play with other textures. This in turn makes self-care, such as dressing and washing and classroom activities that require touch, more manageable.
While those children in the study who received traditional fine motor therapy also showed significant improvements, the children in the sensory integration group showed more progress in specific areas at the end of the study. They also reached more goals specified by their parents and therapists, say study authors Beth Pfeiffer, PhD, and Moya Kinnealey, PhD, from the Occupational Therapy Department in Temple University’s College of Health Professions.