Sensory Processing Abilities of Children Who Have Sustained Traumatic Brain Injuries

Headnote

KEY WORDS

* brain injuries

* child behavior

* sensation

* sensation disorders

OBJECTIVE. This study describes the sensory processing abilities of children ages 3-10 who sustained a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

METHOD. We used a prospective, descriptive study design with convenience sampling of 20 children who were admitted to a pediatric neurosurgical unit. Caregivers provided information regarding their child's sensory processing abilities using the Sensory Profile (Dunn, 1999). We also collected demographic information related to the mechanism and severity of injury. Data were analyzed descriptively, and summary statistics were used to describe the Sensory Profiles of the children in comparison to normative data.

RESULTS. Proportionally more children with TBI than children in the normative sample demonstrated behaviors outside of the typical range in all sections of the Sensory Profile except for oral sensory processing.

CONCLUSION. These findings strongly support the need to include evaluation of sensory processing in any clinical assessment of children who have sustained TBI.

Galvin, J., Froude, E. H., & Imms, C. (2009). Sensory processing abilities of children who have sustained traumatic brain injuries. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 63, 701-709.

Sensory processing refers to a person's capacity to receive, integrate, and respond to sensory information from the environment (Ayres, 1972; Dunn, 1997; Miller & Lane, 2000). Researchers in occupational therapy and neuroscience have proposed that the ability to be aware of sensory information and to be able to adapt and respond to this information is essential for development of cognitive and social skills (Ayres, 1972; Case-Smith, 1997; De Gangi, 1991; Dunn, 1997; Kandel, Schwartz, & Jessell, 2000; Sarno, Lutz-Peter, Lipp, & Schlaegel, 2003; Spence, Nicholls, & Driver, 2001).

After traumatic brain injury (TBI), it is common for children to have difficulty developing cognitive abilities at a rate similar to that of their peers (Anderson, Catroppa, Morse, Haritou, & Rosenfeld, 2005; Anderson & Moore, 1995; Dennis, 2000; Sellars, Vetger, Ellerbusch, & Pickering, 2004). Difficulties with executive skills of planning, organization, and working memory are well documented in the pediatric TBI population; however, little information is available that describes the way in which children receive, integrate, and respond to the sensory information that forms the basis of these executive skills.

Literature relating to adult TBI has documented the...