Effects of Sensory Integration Intervention on Self-Stimulating and Self-Injurious Behaviors

TLDR

The study compared occupational therapy using a sensory integration approach versus tabletop activities on self‑stimulating behavior frequency in seven children with pervasive developmental delay and mental retardation. Participants underwent alternating weekly 4‑week sessions of 15‑minute videotaped SI or tabletop interventions, with investigators scoring self‑stimulating behaviors in each segment. Self‑stimulating behaviors decreased 11 % one hour after SI compared to tabletop (p = 0.02), with no immediate change, and teacher ratings correlated with investigator counts, indicating SI effectively reduces such behaviors.

Abstract

Abstract This study compared the effects of occupational therapy, using a sensory integration (SI) approach and a control intervention of tabletop activities, on the frequency of self-stimulating behaviors in seven children 8–19 years of age with pervasive developmental delay and mental retardation. Daily 15-min videotape segments of the subjects were recorded before, immediately after, and 1 hour after either SI or control interventions performed during alternating weeks for 4 weeks. Each 15-min video segment was evaluated by investigators to determine the frequency of self-stimulating behaviors. The results indicate that self-stimulating behaviors were significantly reduced by 11% one hour after SI intervention in comparison with the tabletop activity intervention (p = 0.02). There was no change immediately following SI or tabletop interventions. Daily ratings of self-stimulating behavior frequency by classroom teachers using a 5-point scale correlated significantly with the frequency counts taken by the investigators (r = 0.32, p < 0.001). These results suggest that the sensory integration approach is effective in reducing self-stimulating behaviors, which interfere with the ability to participate in more functional activities.