The Effectiveness of Sensory Integration Interventions on Motor and Sensory Functions in Infants with Cortical Vision Impairment and Cerebral Palsy: A Single Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Cortical vision impairment (CVI) and Cerebral Palsy (CP) lead to decrement in sensory and motor functions of infants. The current study examined the effectiveness of sensory integration interventions on sensory, motor, and oculomotor skills in infants with cortical vision impairment. Thirty-four infants with and CP aged 12–18 months were enrolled to the study. The infants were randomly divided into two groups as the control and intervention groups. The intervention group took sensory integration intervention 2 days a week for 8 weeks in addition to conventional physiotherapy 2 days a week for 8 weeks. The control group only received the conventional physiotherapy program 2 days a week for 8 weeks. The duration of the treatment sessions were 45 min for both interventions. Before and after the intervention, sensory processing functions were evaluated with the Test of Sensory Functions in Infants (TSFI), and motor functions were evaluated with the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS). There was a statistically significant difference between the pre- and post-test mean TSFI total and AIMS scores in the intervention group and control group (p < 0.001). The intervention group mean TSFI scores were more statistically significant than the those of the control group. Mean post-intervention AIMS scores did not differ between groups. Sensory integration intervention delivered with the conventional physiotherapy program was more effective than the conventional physiotherapy program in increasing sensory processing skills in one measure in infants with CVI and CP.

Effectiveness of Neurodevelopmental Treatment and Sensory Integration Therapy on Gross Motor Function, Balance and Gait Parameters in Children With Spastic Diplegia

“…The SIT approach promotes healthy development while boosting the child's ability to process and integrate information [ 29 ]. The SIT technique necessitates that the child's motivation be a major factor in choosing the activities [ 30 ]. A functional rehabilitation programme may enhance everyday activities for kids with cerebral palsy while simultaneously enhancing gross motor function, according to the findings of a study by Akbari et al, in which the subjects' gross motor abilities were assessed using the GMFM [ 31 ].…”

Relationship between Sensory Processing Skills and Feeding Behaviors in Children Aged 3–6 Years with Cerebral Palsy with Cerebral Visual Impairment

“…It is known that vision is an important sense for environmental orientation, and it is predicted that CP symptoms may be more severe in those with vision deficiencies [17,37,38]. Therefore, it can be inferred that the response of children with CP and CVI to sensory stimuli may be variable and may produce different types of responses depending on the sensory threshold [19].…”

“…CVI occurs in 40 to 48% of children with CP and occurs in addition to CP symptoms [18]. Around 70-80% of the receptors in our body are in our eyes, and the sense of sight is of great importance to the integration of visual stimuli and environmental orientation [19]. Sensory processing, which is the reception of stimuli from the environment, their interpretation in the cerebral cortex, and the formation of an appropriate response, is impaired in these children with CVI and CP due to the involvement of sensory areas [20].…”

“…In studies examining the parameters associated with sensory processing skills in children with CP with and without CVI, it is seen that mostly motor skills are evaluated [19][20][21][22]. Cemali found that the vestibular, tactile, and proprioception senses of children with CVI and CP were more problematic than children with CP without CVI in his study of 10-18-month-old children with and without CVI, stating that vision loss may prevent children from perceiving sensory stimuli and that children may perceive stimuli to be dangerous [19].…”

“…In studies examining the parameters associated with sensory processing skills in children with CP with and without CVI, it is seen that mostly motor skills are evaluated [19][20][21][22]. Cemali found that the vestibular, tactile, and proprioception senses of children with CVI and CP were more problematic than children with CP without CVI in his study of 10-18-month-old children with and without CVI, stating that vision loss may prevent children from perceiving sensory stimuli and that children may perceive stimuli to be dangerous [19]. Pavao evaluated the sensory parameters of children with CP with the Dunn Sensory Profile questionnaire, which included oral assessment of sub-parameters, and partially examined feeding status through feeding questions in the oral assessment and revealed that the children had feeding problems [23].…”