AOTA

By Roseann Schaaf, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, and Zoe Mailloux, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA

A. Jean Ayres believed that children have an innate drive to explore and interact with their world and that these experiences nourish the brain and promote development. Ayres Sensory Integration (ASI) fosters the child's active participation in physical, social, and functional activities using active, individually tailored, sensory-rich experiences to promote skills. This guidebook describes Aryes's sensory integrative approach and applies it to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Many children with ASD have difficulty integrating sensory information, which affects their behavior, learning, social interactions, and participation in daily activities. Because the sensory integrative approach is frequently used with this population, guidelines for its use are essential.

This guidebook's intervention, developed and tested in a randomized controlled trial, provides clear color-coded steps and descriptions in a manualized format. The step-by-step guide includes templates and forms to organize and direct each step's application to practice and research, which are also downloadable. Two extensive case examples take readers through each step, illustrating practical, clinical use.

Contents
Part I. Theoretical Framework
Chapter I.1. Autism and Sensory Integration
Chapter I.2. Common Patterns of Sensory Integration Dysfunction
Chapter I.3. Ayres Sensory Integration: Understanding the Step-by-Step Guide

Part II. Guide to Provision of Ayres Sensory Integration
Chapter II.1. Step 1: Identifying the Child's Strengths and Participation Challenges
Chapter II.2. Step 2: Conducting the Comprehensive Assessment
Chapter II.3. Step 3: Generating Hypotheses
Chapter II.4. Step 4: Developing and Scaling Goals
Chapter II.5. Step 5: Identifying Outcome Measures
Chapter II.6. Step 6: Setting the Stage for Intervention
Chapter II.7. Step 7: Conducting the Intervention
Chapter II.8. Step 8: Measuring Outcomes and Monitoring Progress

Appendixes
Appendix A. Use of the Ayres Sensory Integration Fidelity Measure
Appendix B. Case Example of Applying Ayres Sensory Integration: Liam
Appendix C. Case Example of Applying Ayres Sensory Integration: Raul