Exploring Effects of Sensory Garments on Participation of Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Pretest-Posttest Repeated Measure Design

Abstract

Objective. Autistic children experience sensory challenges that interfere with participation and increase parent stress. Sensory-based interventions are used to address children’s behaviors affected by sensory processing difficulties, but research is limited regarding use of sensory garments to support participation of autistic children. This study explored sensory garment effects on participation, parental competence, and perceived stress of autistic children and their parents. Method. Twenty-one children were recruited and 17 males with ASD and atypical sensory processing patterns completed the 14-week study. The Canadian Occupational Performance (COPM) and Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) were used to set and monitor participation goals. After a baseline period, children wore sensory garment(s) for 8 weeks. The COPM, GAS, Parent Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF), and Parent Sense of Competence Scale (PSOC) were administered four times (prebaseline, before and after the intervention, and three weeks postintervention). Results. There were moderate to large significant differences in both COPM and GAS scores after the intervention and from the beginning to the end of the study indicating sensory garments may improve participation of autistic children. There were no significant differences in PSI or PSOC at any timepoint. Two children rejected the garments. Conclusions. Parent- or child-selected sensory garments may improve participation in individually meaningful activities for children who can tolerate wearing them. Children’s improvement in participation did not improve parent stress or competence, possibly due to the passive nature of the intervention. More research is needed explore the influence of heterogeneous sensory patterns on response to intervention.

A multidimensional investigation of the relationship between skin-mediated somatosensory signals, emotion regulation and behavior problems in autistic children

“…This knowledge can lay the foundation for the implementation of early interventions with the aim of promoting regulated and adjusted behaviors in autistic children and adolescents. Some rehabilitation interventions such the ‘Interoception curriculum’ at school ( Mahler et al, 2022 ), sensory garments ( Lawson et al, 2022 ) and somatosensory training that includes massage, joint compression, brushing, etc. ( Bodison and Parham, 2018 ; Riquelme et al, 2018 ), have shown effectiveness in modifying interoception awareness and somatosensory thresholds, and have improved emotion regulation and participation.…”

“…Nonetheless, novel treatment strategies that aim at modifying sensory perception in order to modulate emotion regulation and behavior, are still scant. From our knowledge, only education on interoception ( Mahler et al, 2022 ) and sensory garments ( Lawson et al, 2022 ) have shown effectiveness both in modifying sensory awareness and improving emotion regulation and participation.…”

Intervenção precoce do enfermeiro no transtorno do Espectro do Autismo infantil

“…A partir do 6° mês de vida já podemos identificar alguns sinais, como a falta de responsividade, ausência de contato visual, difícil interação com outros de mesma idade, há constante ausência de resposta, a intensidade sensorial é a mais simples das formas de identificação do TEA, os padrões de processamento sensorial são diferentes de crianças típicas, hiper-responsividade (sensibilidade aguçada) e hipo-responsividade (menor sensibilidade) são frequentemente observadas, o que facilita a identificação do transtorno por meio dos pais. (Mische lawson;et al: 2022).…”