Abstract
Evidence is reviewed on the prevalence of sensory and motor abnormalities in autism and the effectiveness of three interventions designed to address such abnormalities—sensory integration therapy, traditional occupational therapy, and auditory integration training. Although sensory processing and motor abnormalities are neither universal nor specific to autism, the prevalence of such abnormalities in autism is relatively high. There is, however, little controlled research on the effectiveness of interventions designed to address these abnormalities. Four objective outcome studies of sensory integration therapy were identified. These were of such small scale that no firm conclusions regarding efficacy could be made. No empirical studies of traditional occupational therapy in autism were found. Five studies of auditory integration training were found. Results of these studies provided no, or at best equivocal, support for the use of auditory integration training in autism.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Children with Disabilities. (1998). Auditory integration training and facilitated communication for autism. Pediatrics, 102, 431–433.
Ayres, A. J. (1972). Sensory integration and learning disorders. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.
Ayres, A. J. (1979). Sensory integration and the child. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.
Baranek, G. T. (1999). Autism during infancy: A retrospective video analysis of sensory-motor and social behaviors at 9–12 months of age. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29, 213–224.
Baranek, G. T., Foster, L. G., & Berkson, G. (1997a). Sensory defensiveness in persons with developmental disabilities. Occupational Therapy Journal of Research, 17, 173–185.
Baranek, G. T., Foster, L. G., & Berkson, G. (1997b). Tactile defensiveness and stereotyped behaviors. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 51, 91–95.
Bettison, S. (1996). The long-term effects of auditory training on children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 26, 361–374.
Berard, G. (1993). Hearing equals behavior. New Canaan, CT: Keats.
Case-Smith, J., & Bryan, T. (1999). The effects of occupational therapy with sensory integration emphasis on preschool-age children with autism. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 53, 489–497.
Cornish, K. M., & McManus, I. C. (1996). Hand preference and hand skill in children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 26, 597–609.
Dahlgren, S. P., & Gillberg, C. (1989). Symptoms in the first two years of life: A preliminary population study of infantile autism. European Archives of Psychiatry and Neurological Sciences, 238, 169–174.
Dawson, G. (1996). Neuropsychology of autism: A report on the state of the science. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 26, 179–184.
Dawson, G., Osterling, J., Meltzoff, A., & Kuhl, P. (2000). Case study of the development of an infant with autism from birth to 2 years of age. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 21, 299–313.
DeMeyer, M. K. (1976). Motor, perceptual-motor and intellectual disabilities of autistic children. In L. Wing (Ed.), Early Childhood Autism (2nd ed., pp. 169–196). Pergamom: Oxford.
Eisenmajer, R., Prior, M., Leekam, S., Wing, L., Gould., J., Welham, M., & Ong, B. (1996). Comparison of clinical symptoms in autism and Asperger's disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 1523–1531.
Ghaziuddin, M., Butler, E., Tsai, L., & Ghaziuddin, N. (1994). Is clumsiness a marker for Asperger syndrome? Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 38, 519–527.
Ghaziuddin, M., Tsai, L. Y., & Ghaziuddin, N. (1992). Brief report: A reappraisal of clumsiness as a diagnostic feature of Asperger syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 22, 651–656.
Gillberg, C., Ehlers, S., Schaumann, H., Jakobsson, G., Dahlgren, S. O., Lindblom, R., Bagenholm, A., Tjuus, T., & Blinder, E. (1990). Autism under age 3 years: A clinical study of 28 cases referred for autistic symptoms in infancy. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 31, 921–934.
Gillberg, C., Johansson, M., Steffenburg, S., & Berlin, O. (1997). Auditory integration training in children with autism. Autism, 1, 97–100.
Hallett, M., Lebiedowska, M. K., Thomas, S. L., Stanhope, S. J., Denckla, M. B., & Rumsey, J. (1993). Locomotion of autistic adults. Archives of Neurology, 50, 1304–1308.
Hughes, C. (1996). Brief report: Planning problems in autism at the level of motor control. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 26, 99–107.
Kientz, M. A., & Dunn, W. (1997). A comparison of the performance of children with and without autism on the sensory profile. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 51, 530–537.
Klin, A., Volkmar, F. R., Cicchetti, D. V., & Rourke, B. P. (1995). Validity and neuropsychological characterization of Asperger syndrome: Convergence with Nonverbal Learning Disabilities syndrome. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 36, 1127–1140.
Kohen-Raz, R., Volkmar, F. R., & Cohen, D. J. (1992). Postural control in children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 22, 419–432.
Linderman, T. M., & Stewart, K. B. (1999). Sensory integrativebased occupational therapy and functional outcomes in young children with pervasive developmental disorders: A single-subject study. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 53, 207–213.
Manjiviona, J., & Prior, M. (1995). Comparison of Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autistic children on a test of motor impairment. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 25, 23–39.
McEvoy, R. E., Rogers, S. J., & Pennington, B. F. (1993). Executive function and social communication deficits in young autistic children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 34, 563–578.
Minshew, N. J., Goldstein, G., & Seigel, D. J. (1997). Neuropsychologic functioning in autism: Profile of a complex information processing disorder. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 3, 303–316.
Miyahara, M., Tsujii, M., Hori, M., Nakanishi, K., Kageyama, H., & Sugiyama, T. (1997). Brief report: Motor incoordination in children with Asperger syndrome and learning disabilities. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 27, 595–603.
Nass, R., & Gutman, R. (1997). Boys with Asperger's disorder, exceptional verbal intelligence, and clumsiness. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 39, 691–695.
Rapin, I. (Ed.). (1996). Preschool children with inadequate communication. Clinics in Developmental Medicine (No. 139). London: MacKeith.
Ray, T. C., King, L. K., & Grandin, T. (1988). The effectiveness of self-initiated vestibular stimulation in producing speech sounds in an autistic child. Occupational Therapy Journal of Research, 8, 186–190.
Reilly, C., Nelson, D. L., & Bundy, A. C. (1984). Sensorimotor versus fine motor activities in eliciting vocalization in autistic children. Occupational Therapy Journal of Research, 3, 199–212.
Rimland, B., & Edelson, S. M. (1994). Second opinion: The effects of auditory training on autism. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 3, 16–24.
Rimland, B., & Edelson, S. E. (1995). Brief report: A pilot study of auditory integration training in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 25, 61–70.
Rogers, S. J., Bennetto, L., McEvoy, R., & Pennington, B. F. (1996). Imitation and pantomime in high-functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Child Development, 67, 2060–2073.
Rumsey, J. M., & Hamburger, S. D. (1990). Neuropsychological divergence of high-level autism and severe dyslexia. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 20, 155–168.
Smith, I., & Bryson, S. E. (1998). Gestures imitation in autism: Nonsymbolic postures and sequences. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 15, 259–273.
Szatmari, P., Bartolucci, G., & Bremner, R. (1989). Asperger's syndrome and autism: Comparison of early history and outcome. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 31, 709–720.
Szatmari, P., Tuff, L., Finlayson, M. A. J., & Bartolucci, G. (1990). Asperger's syndrome and autism: Neurocognitive aspects. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29, 130–136.
Teitelbaum, P., Teitelbaum, O., Nye, J., Fryman, J., & Maurer, R. G. (1998). Movement analysis in infancy may be useful for early diagnosis of autism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 95, 13982–13987.
Vilensky, J. A., Damasio, A. R., & Maurer, R. G. (1981). Gait disturbances in patients with autistic behavior: A preliminary study. Archives of Neurology, 38, 646–649.
Watling, R., Deitz, J., Kanny, E. M., & McLaughlin, J. F. (1999). Current practice of occupational therapy for children with autism. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 53, 498–505.
Wing, L. (1981). Asperger's Syndrome: a clinical account. Psychological Medicine, 11, 115–129.
Wing, L., & Wing, J. K. (1971). Multiple impairments in early childhood autism. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 1, 256–266.
Zollweg, W., Palm, D., & Vance, V. (1997). The efficacy of auditory integration training: A double blind study. American Journal of Audiology, 6, 39–47.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dawson, G., Watling, R. Interventions to Facilitate Auditory, Visual, and Motor Integration in Autism: A Review of the Evidence. J Autism Dev Disord 30, 415–421 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005547422749
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005547422749