Hippotherapy uses the horse's movement to enhance motor coordination, sensory integration, communication, and emotional stability in people with different disabilities. There is a need for evidence that proves increased efficiency in language use. In this study, we analyze the effect of hippotherapy on the communicative abilities of children with…

Sensory processing disorder occurs when one's body is unable to deal successfully with the information that it receives through its senses. The manifestation of this inability can appear in many ways, but, in order for the disorder label to apply, it must occur with frequency, intensity, and/or duration. Such dysfunction generally appears through…

The current meta-analysis examined the use of deep touch pressure (DTP; e.g., weighted vests) with students with disabilities. DTP is a form of sensory integration therapy that is currently used extensively in schools with students with autism and other disabilities. Each study in the analysis was evaluated using the Council for Exceptional…

As a result of increased academic rigor and limited movement opportunities during the school day, students may have more limited focus and difficulty in maintaining attention in the classroom (McMurrer, 2007; Stark, Rentner, & Kober 2014; Common Core State Standards 2014). As students have more difficulty maintaining attention, their learning…

This article is intended to assist teachers and researchers in designing studies that examine the efficacy of a particular intervention or strategy with students with sensory disabilities. Ten research designs that can establish causal inference (the ability to attribute any effects to the intervention) with and without randomization are discussed.

This study evaluated a manualized intervention for sensory difficulties for children with autism, ages 4-8 years, using a randomized trial design. Diagnosis of autism was confirmed using gold standard measures. Results show that the children in the treatment group (n = 17) who received 30 sessions of the occupational therapy intervention scored…

Barbabra Luborsky links the medical field and Montessori pedagogy to address atypical attention in children through the lens of the occupational therapist. She provides an overview of attention and sensory processing disorders and then informs about particular diagnoses, particularly ADHD and its comorbidity with other diagnoses. Her specific…

Previous work has highlighted delays and differences in cognitive, language, and sensorimotor functions in children diagnosed with Down syndrome (DS). However, sensory processing and visual organization abilities have not been well-examined in DS to date. This study aimed to investigate the developmental profile of sensory processing and visual…

Learning disabilities (LDs) are associated with underachievement in one or more areas such as reading, spelling, writing and/or mathematics. In general, it is assumed that LDs are neurological in origin, permanent in nature and resistant to intervention. Moreover, LDs are not considered the result of intellectual, physical or sensory disabilities,…

Children with disabilities have frequently participated in various interventions before the efficacy of those practices was scientifically validated. When subsequent scientific evidence failed to support particular practices, those that had already made inroads into the educational arena frequently continued to be used. Given the current emphasis…

Sensory integration (SI) therapy is a controversial intervention used in intervention for children with disabilities that is popular in the United States. Little is known about the use of SI therapy for children with disabilities in educational centres in developing nations such as Malaysia. Supervisors and teachers from seven educational…

Prevention of behavioral problems in school settings is essential. When the function of behavior communicates a sensory-based need, as it does for many learners with autism, teachers need to know what to do. Therefore, it is important for teachers to have varied strategies available for use in the support of such learners. The authors present…

This study addresses the call for increased research on common public school practices and progress monitoring by public school teachers. An alternating treatment design was implemented by a preschool teacher to evaluate the effect of sensory-integration based activities compared with an attention control on the on task behavior of three…

This brief paper summarizes what is known about sensory integration and sensory integration dysfunction (DSI). It outlines evaluation of DSI, treatment approaches, and implications for parents and teachers, including compensatory strategies for minimizing the impact of DSI on a child's life. Review of origins of sensory integration theory in the…