Sensory integrative techniques applied to children with learning disabilities: an outcome study

✍ Scribed by Laurie L. Stonefelt; Professor Franklin Stein

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 96 KB
• Volume: 5
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0966-7903
• DOI: 10.1002/oti.80

✦ Synopsis

Learning disabilities are the most frequently reported causes of functional limitation among school-age children (McNeil, 1995). Many children with learning disabilities have an underlying sensory integrative dysfunction (Hoehn and Baumeister, 1994); therefore, sensory integration therapy has been widely used in treating those children. Research on the effectiveness of sensory integration therapy in treating children with learning disabilities has shown conflicting results; many studies supported the use of sensory integration therapy, whereas others did not. Most of the literature indicates a need for further study in this area. The current study focused on the effectiveness of sensory integration therapy in treating children with learning disabilities, as perceived by their parents, teachers and occupational therapists. Thirty surveys were sent to participants in the Midwest: 10 each to parents, teachers and occupational therapists. Twenty-three surveys were returned, giving a response rate of 77%. Most of the respondents identified that sensory integration therapy was extremely or somewhat effective in helping the children improve function in 12 skill areas. All parents reported doing activities in the home to help their child and all teachers reported making adaptations in the classroom to better accommodate the child. The sensory integrative techniques most frequently used by the therapists were linear activities, tactile stimulation, games and jumping/bouncing. Seven of the therapists reported using another treatment method in addition to sensory integration. These seven noted that a combination of treatments, a multimodel approach, was more effective than sensory integration alone. This study was consistent with previous research showing that sensory integration is an effective treatment method for children with learning disabilities. However, further research is needed using prospective designs involving single-subject or group studies where extraneous variables are rigorously controlled.