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This study compared a behavioral feeding intervention with and without pre-meal sensory integration therapy (SIT) in two boys with autism spectrum disorder and severe food selectivity. For both participants, child bite and drink consumption and total intake increased to similar levels with corresponding decreases in inappropriate mealtime behavior (IMB) in both conditions. The SIT condition was then discontinued and both participants continued to exhibit high levels of bite and drink consumption with corresponding low levels of IMB during a non-SIT phase. Caregivers of both participants were then trained in the behavioral feeding intervention. Follow-up data were collected for one participant for two months following intervention and showed maintenance of treatment gains over time. Limitations of the current study and directions for future research comparing the effects of behavioral feeding interventions with and without SIT are discussed.

Background Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common lifelong condition affecting 1 in 100 people. ASD affects how a person relates to others and the world around them. Difficulty responding to sensory information (noise, touch, movement, taste, sight) is common, and might include feeling overwhelmed or distressed by loud or constant low-level noise (e.g. in the classroom). Affected children may also show little or no response to these sensory cues. These ‘sensory processing difficulties’ are associated with behaviour and socialisation problems, and affect education, relationships, and participation in daily life. Sensory integration therapy (SIT) is a face-to-face therapy or treatment provided by trained occupational therapists who use play-based sensory-motor activities and the just-right challenge to influence the way the child responds to sensation, reducing distress, and improving motor skills, adaptive responses, concentration, and interaction with others. With limited research into SIT, this protocol describes in detail how the intervention will be defined and evaluated. Methods This is a two-arm pragmatic individually 1:1 randomised controlled trial with an internal pilot of SIT versus usual care for primary school aged children (aged 4 to 11 years) with ASD and sensory processing difficulties; 216 children will be recruited from multiple sources. Therapy will be delivered in clinics meeting full fidelity criteria for manualised SIT over 26 weeks (face-to-face sessions: two per week for 10 weeks, two per month for 2 months; telephone call: one per month for 2 months). Follow-up assessments will be completed at 6 and 12 months post-randomisation. Prior to recruitment, therapists will be invited to participate in focus groups/interviews to explore what is delivered as usual care in trial regions; carers will be invited to complete an online survey to map out their experience of services. Following recruitment, carers will be given diaries to record their contact with services. Following intervention, carer and therapist interviews will be completed. Discussion Results of this trial will provide high-quality evidence on the clinical and cost effectiveness of SIT aimed at improving behavioural, functional, social, educational, and well-being outcomes for children and well-being outcomes for carers and families. Trial registration ISRCTN14716440 . Registered on 8 November 2016.

Objective The present systematic review and meta-analysis was intended to evaluate the efficacy of Sensory Integration Therapy (SIT) in ameliorating postural and balance dysfunctions in pediatric populations with cerebral palsy (CP). Methods An exhaustive literature search was directed through several well-known systematic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus, until July 2024. The inclusion criteria targeted studies on sensory integration therapy in children under 18 years diagnosed with CP. This review adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale and the Cochrane Risk of Bias-2 (RoB 2.0) were employed to evaluate the methodological rigor and potential bias of the included studies. Results Seven randomized controlled trials were selected, encompassing 203 children with CP. The interventions predominantly utilized SIT, focusing on enhancing sensorimotor integration. The findings reveal that sensory-based interventions significantly boost gross motor capabilities and skills, contributing to improved functional mobility and standards of living in CP children. These therapies also facilitate the postural control and active participation in day to day activities. Conclusion Sensory-based interventions are efficacious in correcting postural and balance impairments in children with CP. Their integration into comprehensive rehabilitative frameworks is recommended to foster functional autonomy and augment overall developmental outcomes. Future studies should investigate the synergistic effects of these interventions with other therapeutic modalities to maximize rehabilitation efficacy.

The objective of the current study was to compare the effects of sensory-integration therapy (SIT) and a behavioral intervention on rates of challenging behavior (including self-injurious behavior) in four children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. For each of the participants a functional assessment was conducted to identify the variables maintaining challenging behavior. Results of these assessments were used to design function-based behavioral interventions for each participant. Recommendations for the sensory-integration treatment were designed by an Occupational Therapist, trained in the use of sensory-integration theory and techniques. The sensory-integration techniques were not dependent on the results of the functional assessments. The study was conducted within an alternating treatments design, with initial baseline and final best treatment phase. For each participant, results demonstrated that the behavioral intervention was more effective than the sensory integration therapy in the treatment of challenging behavior. In the best treatment phase, the behavioral intervention alone was implemented and further reduction was observed in the rate of challenging behavior. Analysis of saliva samples revealed relatively low levels of cortisol and very little stress-responsivity across the SIT condition and the behavioral intervention condition, which may be related to the participants’ capacity to perceive stress in terms of its social significance.

Background: Autistic children experience social communication challenges that are often linked to reduced social motivation and attention. However, there is currently no effective intervention to improve social attention in autistic children. Objective: This study compared the effects of rope therapy (RT), a novel intervention, with traditional sensory integration therapy (SIT) on social attention and temperament traits in autistic children. Methods: A two-arm randomized controlled trial was conducted in which participants were randomly assigned to RT (n = 14) and SIT (n = 12) groups. Social attention was assessed using eye-tracking parameters, and temperament trait changes were measured using the Taylor–Johnson Temperament Analysis (T-JTA) scale. Results: Both groups showed significant improvements in social attention over time (p < 0.05). Although the RT group demonstrated numerically greater improvements in social attention compared to the transitional SIT group, most of the between-group differences were not statistically significant. Additionally, the RT group showed significant reductions in anxiety and emotional repression temperament traits (p < 0.05). Conclusions: RT exhibits promise as an effective intervention for improving social attention and temperament trait patterns in autistic children. Further research is required to confirm the findings of this study and explore the long-term effects of RT.

The five senses are gateways to our wellbeing and their decline is considered a significant public health challenge, which is linked to multiple conditions that contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality. Modern technology, with its ubiquitous nature and fast data processing, has the ability to leverage the power of the senses to transform our approach to day-to-day healthcare, with positive effects on our quality of life. Here, we introduce the idea of ‘sensory-driven micro-interventions’ for preventive, personalised healthcare. Micro-interventions are targeted, timely, minimally invasive strategies that seamlessly integrate into our daily lives. This idea harnesses humans’ sensory capabilities, leverages technological advances in sensory stimulation, and real-time processing ability for “sensing the senses.” The collection of sensory data from our continuous interaction with technology (e.g. tone of voice, gait movement, and smart home behaviour) opens up a shift towards personalised technology-enabled, sensory-focused healthcare interventions, coupled with the potential of early detection and timely treatment of sensory deficits that can signal critical health insights, especially for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic impacted nearly all facets of our daily lives, and clinical research was no exception. Here, we discuss the impact of the pandemic on our ongoing, three-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) Sensory Integration Therapy (SIT) in Autism: Mechanisms and Effectiveness (NCT02536365) , which investigates the immediate and sustained utility of SIT to strengthen functional daily-living skills and minimize the presence of maladaptive sensory behaviors in autistic children. Main text In this text, we detail how we navigated the unique challenges that the pandemic brought forth between the years 2020 and 2021, including the need to rapidly adjust our study protocol, recruitment strategy, and in-person assessment battery to allow for virtual recruitment and data collection. We further detail how we triaged participants and allocated limited resources to best preserve our primary outcome measures while prioritizing the safety of our participants and study team. We specifically note the importance of open and consistent communication with all participating families throughout the pandemic in ensuring all our protocol adjustments were successfully implemented. Conclusions Though the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an unprecedented interruption to in-person clinical research, clinical trials have always been and will continue to be at risk for unforeseen interruptions, whether from world events or participants’ personal circumstances. By presenting our steps to preserving this RCT throughout the pandemic, we offer suggestions for successfully managing unexpected interruptions to research. Ideally, by taking these into account, future RCTs may be increasingly prepared to minimize the impact of these potential interruptions to research.

Children with weakened axial muscle tone face various problems every day. One is maintaining a stable body posture, which limits their participation in activities and games with peers. The study aimed to assess balance parameters in children with weakened axial muscle tone who underwent sensory integration therapy (SI). The study group consisted of 21 children (divided into three age groups) referred by a doctor for therapy. Methods: The ZEBRIS platform was used to measure the balance parameters (MCoCx, MCoCy, SPL, WoE, HoE, and AoE). The study was conducted twice: before and after two months of sensory integration therapy. The results were compiled using the TIBICO® Statistica software version 13.3.0. Results: After the SI program, statistically significant changes were observed in the values of MCoCy_oe, WoE_oe, AoE_oe in the group of four-year-olds, MCoCX_ce in the group of five-year-olds, and in SPL_ce and AoE_ce in six-year-olds. A statistically significant, highly positive correlation was observed between body height and changes in SPL_oe, HoE_oe, and AoE_oe in the group of six-year-olds, as well as in the case of changes in SPL_oe in the group of five-year-olds. In the group of four-year-olds, a statistically significant correlation occurred only between body height and the change in the MCoCx_oe value. Conclusions: the sensory integration therapy used in the study group of 4–6-year-old children with reduced muscle tone gave positive results in the form of improved static balance and balance.

Evidence is reviewed on the prevalence of sensory and motor abnormalities in autism and the effectiveness of three interventions designed to address such abnormalities: sensory integration therapy, traditional occupational therapy, and auditory integration training. Results of these limited studies provided no firm support for the interventions. (Contains references.) (CR)

Sensory integration therapy (SIT) is a widely used intervention for people with disabilities to address educationally related outcomes and has been subject to ongoing controversy. The outcomes from 30 comparison group studies on sensory integration therapy for people with, or at-risk of, a developmental or learning disability, disorder, or delay were reviewed and analyzed. Studies comparing SIT to no treatment yielded a statistically significant but small effect. However, when SIT was compared to alternative interventions, differences were non-significant. Numerous methodological flaws were identified, such as issues in clearly defining treatment and evaluating integrity, poor quality of research, and diversity of outcome measures. There was little evidence that SIT was an effective intervention for any diagnostic group, particularly when functional blinded outcome measures were examined. Minimum methodological requirements for any future research studies are discussed.