A Study of the Effectiveness of Sensory Integration Therapy on Neuro-Physiological Development By

Background: Sensory integration theory proposes that because there is plasticity within the central nervous system (the brain is moldable) and because the brain consists of systems that are hierarchically organised, it is possible to stimulate and improve neuro-physiological processing and integration and thereby increase learning capacity. Objective: Accordingly, the objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of sensory integration therapy on improving the neuro-physiological capacity of children identified as having learning difficulties. Method: The Beery VMI and the TVPS-3 were used as appropriate neurological development tests to measurement the improvement in neuro-physiology of the children. The study of 62 children diagnosed as having learning difficulties was conducted over the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Results: In both visual perceptual and visual motor integration assessments, the median standardised scores for the study cohorts over the two academic years showing extremely statistically significant and very statistical significant results with a correlated increase in neuro-physiological performance across the two assessment schemes. Conclusion: The results suggest an unusual advancement in the children’s development. They indicate that the sensory integration therapy program was distinctly effective in improving the neuro-physiological development of children with learning difficulties