Date Presented 04/6/21
OTs use sensory diets to manage sensory processing disorder in children. The current evidence on the effects of sensory diets is limited. Also, findings of the studies on the effects of sensory diets are mixed (Case-Smith et al., 2015). This topic discusses the results of the study that investigated the effectiveness of sensory diets and implications for clinical application, as well as future research.
Primary Author and Speaker: Vidya Pingale
PURPOSE: This study investigated the effect of sensory diets on children's sensory processing, psychosocial skills, and classroom engagement in comparison to a control intervention of non-therapeutic (activities with no therapeutic goals) fine motor or visual motor activities.
METHOD: A single subject A-B-C-A design was used with five children between the ages of five and eleven years in an urban public school. This study consisted of phase A1 an initial intervention phase, phase B as a control intervention phase, phase C as a sensory diet intervention phase, and phase A2 the second baseline phase. Each phase for each participant lasted for seven days. Children between the ages of 4 and 11 years with sensory processing disorder as evidenced by a score in the Definite Difference range (+ 2 SD) or Probable Difference (+ 1 SD) ranges on two or more sections or quadrants on the Sensory Profile-2, Teacher Questionnaire (Dunn, 2015) were included in this study. Three target behaviors individualized for each child in three areas, sensory processing skills, psychosocial skills, and classroom engagement were used as outcome measures for determining the effect of sensory diets on children's proximal and distal performance. The data were collected by video recording participants for 15 minutes each day during a group context. The frequency or duration of target behaviors was documented later after reviewing these video clips.
INTERVENTIONS: Sensory diets were developed based on the framework proposed by Wilbarger (Wilbarger & Wilbarger, 2002) and consisted of an activity plan tailored for each participant to facilitate their sensory processing skills throughout a school day. An occupational therapist delivered sensory diets three times a day during phase C. A non-therapeutic control intervention consisting of age-appropriate fine motor and visual motor activities with no therapeutic goal was delivered by the occupational therapist during phase B. The duration and schedule for the control intervention matched with each participant's sensory diet schedule.
RESULTS: Visual analysis showed that sensory diets positively changed target behaviors related to sensory processing skills (sensory seeking behaviors) of four participants. Also, changes in target behaviors in response to sensory diets were significant for three participants. All participants showed positive changes in target behaviors related to psychosocial skills (maladaptive behaviors), and classroom engagement (off-task behaviors). Binomial test results were significant for all participants for changes in target behaviors related to psychosocial skills and for three participants for changes in target behaviors related to classroom engagement in response to sensory diets. The visual analysis indicated that the control intervention had no effect on target behaviors. Also, participants showed differences in their responses to the withdrawal of sensory diets.
CONCLUSION: Similar to the study by Pingale, et al. (2019), the findings of this study show that sensory diets may have a role in managing sensory processing disorder and facilitating the participation of children with sensory processing disorder in classroom activities. Future studies with larger sample size and randomized allocation are needed to corroborate the effect of sensory diets. Results of this study add to the evidence-base on sensory diets and provide evidence for using sensory diets for improving children's participation in classroom activities.
References
Case-Smith, J., Weaver, L. L., & Fristad, M. A. (2015). A systematic review of sensory processing interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 19(2), 133-148. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361313517762
Dunn, W. (2015). Sensory profile 2. Psychological Corporation.
Pingale, V., Fletcher, T., & Candler, C. (2019). The effects of sensory diets on children’s classroom behaviors. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention. https://doi.org/10.1080/19411243.2019.1592054
Wilbarger, J., & Wilbarger, P. (2002). Clinical application of the sensory diet. In A. C. Bundy, S. J. Lane, & E. A. Murray (2nd Ed.). Sensory integration: Theory and practice. FA Davis.
