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Effectiveness of sensory processing strategies on activity level in inclusive preschool classrooms

Authors Lin C , Min, Chou L , Lin C 

Received 18 August 2012

Accepted for publication 24 September 2012

Published 23 October 2012 Volume 2012:8 Pages 475—481

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S37146

Checked for plagiarism Yes

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 4



Chien-Lin Lin,1,2 Yu-Fan Min,3 Li-Wei Chou,1,2,* Chin-Kai Lin,4,*

1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 2School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 3Faith, Hope and Love, Center for Children and Adults With Disabilities, Taichung, Taiwan; 4Program of Early Intervention, Department of Early Childhood Education, National Taichung University of Education, Taichung, Taiwan

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of sensory processing strategies in improving the activity level of children with sensory integration dysfunction.
Methods: The study used a matching-only pretest–posttest control group design, which requires random matching of sensory integration dysfunction to the corresponding intervention group (n = 18) and control group (n = 18). The intervention group comprised 3–6-year-old children who received an 8-week school-day intervention during implementation of the theme curriculum.
Results: The 8-week treatment significantly reduced the activity level and foot-swinging episodes in children with sensory integration dysfunction, and obtained a medium-effect size. However, the level of improvement in the control group did not show any statistically significant change.
Conclusion: Sensory processing strategies could improve activity levels in children with sensory integration dysfunction. However, this study was unable to exclude a developmental effect. The social validity results show that sensory processing strategies can be integrated into the theme curriculum and improve activity levels in children.

Keywords: activity level, preschool inclusive classroom, sensory integration dysfunction, sensory processing strategy

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