Occupational Therapy Interventions for Children and Youth With Challenges in Sensory Integration and Sensory Processing: A School-Based Practice Case Example

Abstract

Evidence Connection articles provide case examples of how practice decisions may be informed by findings of systematic reviews sponsored by the American Occupational Therapy Association Evidence-Based Practice Project. This Evidence Connection article is the second article in a two-part series. The first article described a case report of occupational therapy provided to a child with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and challenges in sensory integration in a clinic setting (Parham et al., 2019). This article describes the same child's occupational therapy service delivery by the occupational therapist working in the school setting. A lejandro is a 6.5-yr-old boy who attends first grade and lives with both parents and a typically developing older sister. His prenatal and birth history was unremarkable. Developmental milestones were met until age 18 mo, when his parents began to notice unusual behavior, including limited eye contact, failure to respond to his name, and repetitive movements. He received a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at the age of 2 yr, 4 mo, and was found eligible for home-based early intervention services. When Alejandro was age 35 mo, the early intervention team recommended that he transition to an early childhood special education preschool. Alejandro's parents declined this option and chose instead to enroll him at age 3.5 yr in the preschool that his sister had attended. Within 6 mo, he was expelled because of disruptive behaviors. At age 4 yr, Alejandro was placed in a home day care setting with one other child. Struggles with social interactions and behavior challenges with daily routines continued in this setting, but the home day care provider was able to calm him most days. At age 5 yr, Alejandro was enrolled in kindergarten at his neighborhood public elementary school. Alejandro succeeded academically, but difficulties with peer interactions and compliance with classroom routines continued. In first grade, his challenges with self-regulation of behavior, social engagement with peers, and difficulty following classroom routines increased, particularly when he was required to remain seated for desk work. His teacher made several attempts to assist Alejandro by changing his placement in the classroom, providing frequent verbal cues, and encouraging friendship with another peer, but change was minimal. The teacher contacted Alejandro's parents and suggested scheduling a meeting to discuss how best to support Alejandro. Multitiered Systems of Support Teaming for Alejandro The school's problem-solving team, including an occupational therapist, scheduled a meeting with Alejandro's parents and his teacher. The teacher reviewed her concerns and described the strategies she had tried in the classroom to assist Alejandro. The parents shared his past day care challenges and their current concerns in the home, namely Alejandro's refusing to eat a variety of foods, running away or having a tantrum when he became upset, and refusing to work on coloring or writing activities. The t...

Practitioner’s review: medication for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and comorbid conditions

“…Cognitive training [56] and neurofeedback [88,212,252] are less effective and more complex. Occupational therapy [49] is useful as an adjunct for improving comorbid sensory integration and dysexecutive problems.…”

“…Various behavioral and functional therapies, such as structured behavioral therapies [178,254,299], communication and social skills training [177,213], occupational therapy [49,194], mindfulness [259], play teaching [162], music [217,289], and speech therapy, have been shown to have beneficial effects in improving development, behavior, speech, social functioning, and quality of life [146,191,192,220,221,275]. Physical exercise is an effective treatment option, especially in children with dual disorder, ASD and ADHD [128,286,302].…”

Analysis of Concordance Between Parent Proxy and Child Self-report of KIDSCREEN-10 Health-related Quality of Life Questionnaire in an Elementary School-based Wellness Program: A Pilot Focus Group Study

“…School-based wellness programs for children's poor posture are generally designed to enhance educational attainment through improved school health via parent and teacher. Many efforts have been made in trying to track children's school health by providing health campaigns such as wellness programs for detecting musculoskeletal imbalances [1][2][3]. While it is easy to address why those wellness programs should be implemented in early childhood, the impact of those programs on child's health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has been an issue due to the level of agreement between the perspectives of parents and their children.…”

Intervención de Terapia Ocupacional en niños con dificultades de procesamiento Sensorial: Un estudio de caso múltiple en una escuela en Paris.

“…Candler, & Sarafian, 2020) (Clark, Watling, Parham, & Schaaf, 2019), en algunos países, como Francia, contar con una terapista ocupacional de planta en los colegios no es una práctica común. Asimismo, la relación entre dificultades de procesamiento sensorial y problemas de desempeño es poco conocida y difundida en el ámbito escolar.…”