AOTA

Earn CE Credit With AJOT Articles!

Learn about tested treatment strategies by reading AJOT articles in your area of practice. Become an evidence-based practitioner and demonstrate your knowledge by passing the course exam.  Articles have been selected for their relevance to practice, fresh ideas, and strong evidence supporting treatment and the distinct value of OT.

Abstract

This systematic review examines the evidence for the effectiveness of cognitive and occupation-based interventions to improve self-regulation in children and youth who have challenges in processing and integrating sensory information. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guided the methodology. Five studies identified through a comprehensive database search met the inclusion criteria and were separated into categories of cognitive and occupation-based interventions. Articles that did not specifically measure sensory integration (SI) or processing challenges were omitted. Synthesis of the articles suggests that self-regulation (e.g., sensory processing, emotional regulation, executive functioning, social function) improved with cognitive and occupation-based interventions. Because the number of studies that measured sensory processing or SI challenges was limited, researchers are encouraged to include these measures in future research to understand the impact of a broader range of cognitive and occupation-based interventions.

Credit: Earn .1 AOTA CEU (1.25 NBCOT PDU/1 contact hour)

Authors

Beth Pfeiffer, PhD, OTR/L, BCP, FAOTA, is Associate Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA.

Gloria Frolek Clark, PhD, OTR/L, BCP, SCSS, FAOTA, is Occupational Therapist, Private Practice, Adel, IA.

Marian Arbesman, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, is Methodology Consultant, Evidence-Based Practice Project, American Occupational Therapy Association, Bethesda, MD;  Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Research and Leadership, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC; and President, ArbesIdeas, Inc., Williamsville, NY.

Learning Objectives

1.      List and define the four components of self-regulation.

2.      Identify and describe various cognitive and occupation-based interventions used in occupational therapy practice to improve self-regulation in children and youth who have challenges in sensory processing and integration

3.      Based on the evidence, explain the effectiveness of occupational therapy-related cognitive and occupation-based interventions to improve self-regulation in children and youth who have challenges in sensory processing and integration.

CE Find Key Words: Occupation-based interventions, cognitive-based interventions, self-regulation 

Learning Level: Advanced

Target Audience: Occupational therapy practitioners

Content Focus: Category 1: Domain of OT; Category 2: OT Process: Evaluation

Reference Information:

Pfeiffer, B., Frolek Clark, G., & Arbesman, M. (2018). Effectiveness of cognitive and occupation-based interventions for children with challenges in sensory processing and integration: A systematic review. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 72, 7201190020. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2018.028233