Education is a primary childhood occupation. Dysfunction in sensory processing can make it challenging for children to succeed in school. School-based occupational therapy (SBOT) services address these differences through sensory-based interventions. Limited research exists to support the use of sensory-based interventions in school-based…

This dissertation focuses on sensory-based strategies at schools for students on the autism spectrum, with a focus on the degree to which these approaches might be effective for reducing interfering behaviors or promoting on-task behaviors. Chapter 1 provides an introduction and brief background information related to the subsequent chapters.…

Arts integration enriches learning experiences by fostering creativity, critical thinking, and emotional expression, thereby enhancing students' overall cognitive and social development.While all students benefit significantly from arts integration, students who struggle in a particular academic area can rediscover their love for learning.…

The dorsal stream vulnerability hypothesis posits that the dorsal stream, responsible for visual motion and visuo-motor processing, may be particularly vulnerable during neurodevelopment. Consistent with this, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been associated with deficits in global motion integration, though deficits in ventral stream tasks,…

In this study, we aimed to analyze the incremental effects of sensory integration therapy (SIT) plus neurodevelopmental therapy (NT) versus NT alone on the attention and motor skills in children with Down syndrome (DS). We randomly assigned into experimental (i.e. SIT + NT; n = 21) and control (i.e. NT alone; n = 21) groups. While NT was applied…

This paper aims to show the effects of actions focused on supporting the development of children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Conducted with an eclectic approach, these actions sought techniques tailored to the individual person and their problems. Children aged 5-7 years underwent a two-stage diagnostic procedure (preliminary and final)…

Audiovisual (AV) integration, identified as a pivotal factor in comprehending speech in noisy environments, is a complex phenomenon. Understanding speech perception, even within a single modality, presents various nuances due to language specificity. When consolidating information from multiple modalities, it is imperative to understand how the…

The Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML) suggests humans learn through visual and auditory sensory channels. Haptics represent a third channel within CTML and a missing component for experiential learning. The objective was to measure visual and haptic behaviors during spatial tasks. The haptic abilities test (HAT) quantifies results in…

Sensory differences are highly prevalent in autistic individuals. However, few studies have compared their presentation between autistic males and autistic females. We used psychophysics to assess and compare tactile perceptual sensitivity between autistic and non-autistic boys and girls aged between 8 and 12 years of age. While there were…

Fidget devices are often used in classrooms to help students move their bodies while attending to academic or behavioral directives. Devices range from small handheld tools such as spinners and tangle puzzles to larger full-body devices such as exercise balls. The current study provides a meta-analysis of the effects of fidget devices as academic…

Proprioceptive kinaesthetic control underpins motor movements of developing children and can be influenced by several factors. The main aim of this study was to establish proprioceptive kinaesthetic coordination differences in six-year-olds from different school quintiles, of different genders, and with different handedness. A total of 193…

Student well-being is an increasing area of concern within higher education and one of the biggest causes of attrition. This study sought to investigate the potential for sensory modulation strategies as an approach to support student well-being and engagement in studies through an action research project. Sixteen second-year occupational therapy…

Children with atypical sensory integration have difficulty responding to the processing and/or organization of sensory information, this disability affects functional participation in routines and activities of daily living. Participation is defined as involvement in life situations, it is essential to promote life experiences and the development…

Research on the impact of auditory information on visual anticipation in tennis suggests that the intensity of racket-ball-contact sounds systematically biases estimates of the ball's speed, thereby influencing anticipatory judgments. Here we examined whether the effect of auditory information on visual anticipation is dependent on the…

Purpose: Categorical perception (CP) manifests in various aspects of human cognition. While there is mounting evidence for CP in facial emotions, CP in vocal emotions remains understudied. The current study attempted to test whether individuals with a tonal language background perceive vocal emotions categorically and to examine how factors such…