The Effect of Sensory Integration Therapy on Social Interactions and Sensory and Motor Performance in Children with Autism

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate of effects of sensory integration therapy (SIT) on social interaction and sensory and motor performance in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Methods: twenty four children with ASD (22 boys, 2 girls), aged 6-12 years that matched on IQ and gender, were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. We requested participants of the experimental group to attend in therapeutic program bases on sensory integration theory for 25 weeks (100 sessions), while participants of the control group only received daily common training programs. Pretest, posttest and follow up measured social interaction and sensory and motor performance. Results: Results revealed that SIT significantly improved social interaction and motor and tactile performance in the experimental group, and at 2 months post of intervention the improvement in the experimental group remained unchanged compared to post-intervention time. The social interaction and motor and tactile performance of participants of the control group was not changed across the experimental period. Results no showed a significant improvement for visual and auditory performance in experimental group. Discussion: We concluded that therapy based on sensory integration leads to significant reduction in some of symptoms to children with ASD.