Effect of Sensory Integration in Speech Therapy for Children With Autism

Overview

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is considered one of the commonest developmental disabilities, characterized mainly by impairments in social performance and communicative skills, repetitive stereotypical behaviors, and restriction in interests and activities, with a combination of sensory, cognitive, behavioral, and communication features which persist throughout life. Caminha \& Lampreia specified that there is a significantly high prevalence of sensory processing dysfunctions in ASD. Sensory processing means how the central and peripheral nervous systems deal with the incoming sensory input from different sensory organs; visual, auditory, smell, taste, tactile, proprioception, and vestibular information. Sensory processing dysfunction is the neurological dysfunction affecting the adequate reception, modulation, integration, discrimination, or organization of sensory stimuli, and the behavioral responses to the sensory input. Sensory integration therapy (SIT) is a frequent type of therapy that aims to improve a child's ability to perceive and integrate sensory input in order to explore more ordered and appropriate actions. SIT improves motor skills, social relationships, attention, behavior control, language and pre-linguistic communicative abilities, reading comprehension, participation in play activities, and personal identification. Therefore, the need for further explicit assessment of sensory integration intervention among ASD children has been increased to identify its gains in social and verbal interactions. This study aimed to estimate the impact of sensory integration therapy on language development in autism spectrum disorder children.46 ASD children will enroll in this study, their ages ranged from 3-10 years, males and females, divided into two groups (group I received speech therapy sessions together with sensory integration therapy sessions, group II received speech therapy sessions only) went through two stages of evaluation before and after receiving their sessions with one year apart. All children were subjected to Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), sensory profile assessment by Short Sensory profile (SSP) and Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills- Revised (The ABLLS-R).Data will be taken from Clinics and Schools having children with autism