'Sensory' Therapies for Autism - No Evidence They Work?

Doubt Cast on Usefulness of 'Sensory' Therapies for Autism - Yahoo! News

MONDAY, May 28 (HealthDay News) -- Sensory therapies using brushes, swings and other play equipment are increasingly used by occupational therapists to treat children with developmental issues such as autism, but a large pediatricians organization says there isn't much evidence that such therapies actually work. 

Still, the group isn't completely discounting the potential of sensory therapies -- it's a ripe area for research, it noted. 

But before parents spend the time and money on taking children to sensory therapy, they should know that, as of now, the techniques are largely unproven. 

"It's OK for parents to try these types of therapies, but there is little research backing up the effectiveness of these therapies and whether or not they improve long-term outcomes for kids with developmental disabilities," said Dr. Michelle Zimmer, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Integrated therapies help some autistic kids, but academics question the science

For most of his life, 16-year-old Paul Bauer has spoken only gibberish and an occasional repetitive phrase.

Connie Bauer sensed that her son wanted to say more, but she didn't know how to help him find the words locked inside his mind. Since being diagnosed with autism as a toddler, he rarely spoke and made his needs known mostly by pointing at things.

Then, during a trip to the mall, something unexpected happened. Paul Bauer walked up to an attendant at a carousel and asked how much it would cost to ride.

"He had never done anything like that before," said Connie Bauer, of Grand Prairie. "Usually he would have just climbed on the ride."

Bauer credits a 10-hour accelerated sensory integration program, which involves watching spots of light while listening to music, for the change in her son. He is now talking in sentences for the first time.

Sensori-motor auditory visual education, or SAVE, combines three therapies to achieve faster and better results than if they were used separately, said Dr. Mary Ann Block, who developed the program and has been testing it for years on patients in her Hurst office.

Training the visual, auditory and motor senses together helps develop, retain and expand the ability to take in, understand and use information more effectively, according to Block, an author and physician who specializes in a natural approach to health.

"The brain is really elastic and flexible," she said. "Given the chance, it can do amazing things."

To understand how sensory integration works, think about learning to ride a bicycle.

"You don't learn to do it just with your eyes," Block said. "You need all of your senses."

It's the same with SAVE, which Block has used to help people with autism, Asperger's syndrome and other conditions. College students and adults, with or without autism, have also benefited from memory improvements, reading concentration and organizational skills, she said.

Block said she hopes to explore its effectiveness for adults with Alzheimer's disease.

During a session, the client lies on a slowly rotating padded chair while following colored lights on a computer monitor overhead and listening to music on headphones.

"The person just lies there, looks at the lights and listens to the music and it happens to them," she said.

Bright lights affect people with autism in different ways. Some like the lights and show increased interest in high contrast; others find them less interesting or even aversive, said Dr. Susan Hyman, associate professor of pediatrics at Golisano Children's Hospital University of Rochester Medical Center in upstate New York. Young children prefer high-contrast items, so lights may be novel in therapy, she said.

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/11/15/2634096/integrated-therapies-helps-some.html#ixzz15ZmzFscA

Sensory integration therapy (SIT) and Autism

Seth Link models a cap of electrodes to measure brain waves in Vanderbilt Kennedy Center’s Psychophysiology Lab.

Autism study to evaluate sensory integration therapy

BY: BILL SNYDER

1/15/2010 - Vanderbilt University researchers have received a two-year federal stimulus grant to evaluate sensory integration therapy, a widely used but controversial method for improving communication skills in children with autism.

Children with autism have difficulty taking in and integrating sensory information from the outside world, particularly auditory information.

The suppression or misinterpretation of auditory information can prevent the development of language.

Sensory integration therapy, or SIT, uses “desensitization” techniques such as joint massage and tactile brushing to overcome this difficulty. But SIT has never been thoroughly evaluated scientifically.

Supported by a two-year, $670,000 grant from the National Institute on

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New Diagnosis? How to Help a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder

How To Help a Child With Autism on Howcast

Step 1

Take your child for a complete medical exam. Some behavioral problems associated with autism, like temper tantrums, can sometimes be reduced if physical problems common in children with autism, such as gastrointestinal issues and allergies, are alleviated.

Step 2

Put your child on a gluten-free, casein-free diet, which means no barley, rye, oats, wheat, or dairy. Many families of children with autism have had good results – but only if the diet is followed to the letter, no exceptions.

Step 3

Get your child started on speech therapy as soon as possible. If your child is nonverbal, try PECS, which stands for Picture Exchange Communication System. This technique, which uses picture cards, may encourage them to speak.

Step 4

Get your child sensory-integration therapy, which has been proven effective in helping children with autism become less sensitive to light, sound, and touch.

Step 5

Hire an occupational therapist to help them with skills they’ll need for an independent life. Depending on the child, this can be anything from physical coordination to anger management.

Step 6

Use applied behavioral analysis, or ABA, the only intervention approved by the Surgeon General’s Office. ABA is a one-on-one approach to teaching children how to react appropriately to everyday social situations with the help of rewards. Parents can either hire an ABA-trained therapist or learn the technique themselves.

Step 7

Try other therapies. Most children with autism benefit from a combination of treatments.

Step 8

Consider verbal behavior intervention, which is designed to develop language skills through motivation and reinforcement.

Step 9

Test the TEACCH approach, which customizes an education program to the child’s strengths and weaknesses. Because children with autism tend to be visual learners, the program is structured around visual clues.

Step 10

Consider becoming trained in Relationship Development Intervention, or RDI, which suggests everyday things parents can do at home to help their child adapt to changes and be more open to interacting with others.

Step 11

Enroll your child in school when they turn three. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that states provide special education services to children with disabilities, beginning at this age.

Step 12

Stay up-to-date on autism research; new therapies are being tested and developed all the time.

Sensory Integration Therapy

Sensory Integration Therapy

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