Clinical Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Sensory Integrative and Perceptual Motor Therapy in Improving Sensory Integrative Function in Children with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

After 72 1-hour therapy sessions for 3 hours per week, significantly more subjects, aged 58 to 107 months, receiving sensory integration therapy (n=35) and perceptual motor training (n=35) than those receiving no treatment (n=33) showed improvement in their sensory integrative functioning. The same effect was found for a subgroup of children exhibiting vestibular dysfunction only. Improvement could include an increase of all test scores defining a child's particular dysfunction into the normal range with associated clinical observations indicating no problem, or a reduction in the severity of a child's dysfunction, the number of their dysfunctional systems, or both severity and dysfunctional systems. The groups did not differ in the incidence of any one of these individual types of improvement, but only in their overall improvement represented by the total of all types. Discussion focused on the type and degree of improvement therapists can expect from treatment and problems associated with evaluating outcome.

Keywords

therapists' assessment outcome measures

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ayres

A. J.

(1975). The Southern California Postrotary Nystagmus Test (SPRNT). Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.

Ayres

A. J.

(1976). The effect of sensory integration therapy on learning disabled children. Los Angeles: University of Southern California.

Ayres

A. J.

(1978). Learning disabilities and the vestibular system. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 11, 30–41.

Ayres

A. J.

(1980). The Southern California Sensory Integration Test Manual—Revised (SCSIT). Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.

Ayres

A. J.

(1984). Interpreting the Southern California Sensory Integration Test. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.

Ayres

A. J.

(1989). Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.

Ayres

A. J.

Mailloux

Z. K.

, & Wendler

C. L. W.

(1987). Developmental dyspraxia: Is it a unitary function? The Occupational Therapy Journal of Research, 7, 93–110.

Coles

G. S.

(1989). Excerpts from the learning mystique: A critical look at learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 22, 313–340.

Dunn

(1981). A guide to testing clinical observations in kindergarten. Rockville, MD: American Occupational Therapy Association.

10.

Fisher

A. G.

, & Murray

E. A.

(1991). Introduction to sensory integration therapy. In Fisher

A. G.

Murray

E. A.

, & Bundy

A. C.

(Eds.), Sensory integration theory and practice (pp. 3–26). Philadelphia: F. A. Davis.

11.

Friefeld

Snider

, & Phillips

(1991). A position paper on the role of occupational therapy in paediatrics. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 58, centrefold.

12.

Hammill

D. D.

(1990). On defining learning disabilities: An emerging consensus. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 23(2), 74–86.

13.

Humphries

T. W.

Wright

McDougall

, & Vertez

(1991). The efficacy of sensory integration therapy for children with learning disability. Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 20(3), 1–17.

14.

Humphries

T. W.

Wright

Snider

, & McDougall

(1992). A comparison of the effectiveness of sensory integrative therapy and perceptual-motor training in treating children with learning disabilities. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 23(1), 31–40.

15.

Jastak

J. F.

, & Jastak

(1978). Wide Range Achievement Test Manual of Instruction—Revised Edition (WRAT). Wilmington: Jastak Associates.

16.

Kaufman

A. S.

(1979). Intelligence testing with the WISC-R. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

17.

Law

Polatajko

H. J.

Schaffer

Miller

, & Macnab

(1991). The impact of heterogeneity in a clinical trial: Motor outcomes after sensory integration therapy. The Occupational Therapy Journal of Research, 11, 177–188.

18.

Ottenbacher

K. J.

(1991). Research in sensory integration: Empirical perceptions and progress. In Fisher

A. G.

Murray

E. A.

, & Bundy

A. C.

(Eds.), Sensory integration theory and practice (pp. 387–399). Philadelphia: F. A. Davis.

19.

Polatajko

(1983). The Southern California Postrotary Nystagmus Test: A validity study. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 50, 119–123.

20.

Polatajko

Law

Miller

Schaffer

, & Macnab

(1991). The effect of a sensory integration program on academic achievement, motor performance and self-esteem in children identified as learning disabled: Results of a clinical trial. The Occupational Therapy Journal of Research, 11, 155–176.

21.

Schaffer

(1984). Sensory integration therapy with learning disabled children: A critical review. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 52(2), 73–77.

22.

Silver

(1986). Controversial approaches to treating learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders. American Journal of Diseases of Children, 140, 1045–1052.

23.

Wechsler

(1967). Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence Manual (WPPSI). New York: Psychological Corp.

24.

Wechsler

(1974). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised Manual (WISC-R). New York: Psychological Corp.

25.

Yack

(1989). Sensory integration: A survey of its use in the clinical setting. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 56, 229–235.