Exploring the Effectiveness of Occupational Therapy Interventions, Other Than the Sensory Integration Approach, With Children and Adolescents Experiencing Difficulty Processing and Integrating Sensory Information

Headnote

KEY WORDS

* activities of daily living

* occupational therapy

* pediatrics

* review

* sensory integrative dysfunction

* sensory processing

* treatment outcome

This literature review was completed as part of the Evidence-Based Literature Review Project of the American Occupational Therapy Association to explore the effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions with children and adolescents experiencing difficulty processing and integrating sensory information. This part of the review focused on interventions other than the sensory integration approach. Twenty articles (reporting on 21 studies) met the inclusion criteria. This systematic review found that children with difficulty processing and integrating sensory information and difficulties with the performance of daily occupations can benefit from intervention. However, the great variability that characterizes this literature in terms of populations, interventions, and study quality precludes the formation of any firm conclusions regarding specific approaches. There is an urgent need for well-controlled studies examining the effectiveness of frequently used pediatric occupational therapy interventions with well-defined, homogeneous populations on outcomes that target participation in everyday life.

Polatajko, H. J., & Cantin, N. (2010). Exploring the effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions, other than the sensory integration approach, with children and adolescents experiencing difficulty processing and integrating sensory information. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 64, 415-429. doi: 10.5014/ajot.2010.09072

The role of occupational therapists working with children is to promote their full participation in the occupations of everyday living. Occupational therapists do this using a variety of service models ranging from consultation to direct service delivery. They also use a wide variety of intervention approaches; the specific approaches chosen by an occupational therapist in any particular case depends on his or her perspective regarding the nature of the problems experienced by the child and how best to address these problems.

In today's research-informed health care climate, however, an occupational therapist's choice of intervention must be informed not only by his or her underlying conceptual perspective but also by the latest and best evidence regarding the effectiveness of the intervention. Moreover, the education and training of occupational therapy students must be updated frequently to reflect advances in the field. It is our intention in this review to provide a synthesis and appraisal of the evidence reporting on the effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions, other than the sensory...