Aimee Young | OCC 5010 | FOR ASSIGNMENT
Sensory Integration
1.
The theory or theories your FOR is based on; where did this FOR come from?
​The Sensory Integration (SI) theory was developed by A. Jean Ayres, an occupational
therapist with additional training in education psychology and neuroscience, to explain
behaviors she observed in children with learning problems not explained by existing
theories (Kramer & Hinojosa, 2010) (Keilhofner, 2004). SI looks at behavior and learning
through a holistic framework, combining concepts from human development,
neuroscience, psychology, and occupational therapy (Kramer & Hinojosa, 2010).
2.
What part of our Domain of Practice does it relate to? (Use the Framework)
​Client Factors ​|​ Client factors including specific mental functions of attention, memory,
perception, sequencing complex movement and more are part of SI components as well as
all sensory functions. The input of sensory information, its continued processing, and
adaptation influencing mental functions is central to SI theory.
Performance Skills |​ Performance skills are impacted and relate to SI as the outward
result of adequate or inadequate processing of the sensory input. Without adequate
processing, one will not adjust or correct behaviors of motor and processing skills within a
task that are inefficient.
Occupations |​ Ultimately, the outcome of inadequate, non-integrated sensory processing
information results in underperformance in occupations. SI theory aims to reorganize and
integrate sensory input to achieve successful occupational participation in ADLs, education,
play, leisure, and social participation ​([​Framework-III​], AOTA, 2014)​.
3.
Brief Definition of the FOR; key points that distinguish it
Sensory integration is a developmental process using sensory information in a “just-right
challenge,” which provides a foundation for learning and behavior using the brain’s
neuroplasticity and adaptive responses (Kramer & Hinojosa, 2010). The theory centers
around interactions between the sensory systems and postulates that adequate processing
and integration of sensory information is an imperative foundation for adaptive behavior
(Kramer & Hinojosa, 2010).
Further key concepts for this model note that:
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a developmental sequence results from the brain successfully interpreting and
organizing incoming sensory information from the body’s 8 sensory inputs in a
repeating looping pattern; with each loop becoming more complex.
Positive and successful experiences reinforce desire to seek more input
opportunities, from an primal and instinctual inner drive.
Brain, mind and body are INTERdependent and require continuous reciprocal
communication to accurately process, organize, and file for future retrieval or
adaptation along a continuum (Sensory Integration Global Network, 2018).
4.
Write a vignette with a client or patient which helps other students
understand how this FOR is applied in treatment.
The idea behind SI therapy is that specific movement activities, resistive body work, and
even brushing of the skin can help a child with sensory problems experience an optimal
level of arousal and regulation. This helps the child appropriately integrate and respond to
sensory input, allowing them to both make sense of and feel safer in the world. A child with
hypersensitivity to touch may experience irritation with certain clothing materials or
restrictive shoes. Interventions that expose the child to lower threshold stimuli, such as
other textures, brushing, temperature changes, that are a ‘just-right’ challenge and do not
shock the system, but rather teach tolerance and appropriate responses, are one way to
adapt and continue through the integration loops of development.
References
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2014). Occupational therapy practice
framework: Domain and process (3rd ed.). ​American Journal of Occupational
Therapy, 68(​ Suppl. 1), S1-S48.
Kielhofner, G. (2004). Conceptual Foundations of Occupational Therapy Practice (4th
edition). Philadelphia, PA:F.A. Davison Company
Kramer, P., Hinojosa, J. (2010). ​Frames of reference for pediatric occupational therapy
(3rd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Sensory Integration Global Network​. (2018). Retrieved from Sensory Integration:
http://www.siglobalnetwork.org