The impact of an in-class sensory activity schedule (SAS) on cognitive strategy use for five children with autism and intellectual disability

Children with Autism experience disorder in sensory processing and cognitive strategy use during performance of school tasks. A Sensory Activity Schedule (SAS) which allows children to meet their sensory needs within the classroom may enable improved cognitive strategy use and occupational performance within the classroom. Objectives: To determine the impact of SAS intervention on cognitive strategy use for five primary school students with ASD and Intellectual Disability as measured by the Perceive, Recall, Plan and Perform (PRPP) cognitive task analysis. Method: Intervention was designed by the school occupational therapist and classroom teacher and took place within the classroom in a special school before the commencement of desk work tasks. A pilot study utilising single system and small n methods was employed. Baseline (A Phase: no SAS) and intervention (B Phase: in-class SAS) average scores were determined from multiple data points collected across each phase for each child. Visual and statistical analysis of the scores were used to determine differences between baseline and intervention measures of cognitive strategy use during classroom tasks. Results: Statistically significant improvements were present in the Recall and the Plan scores following SAS intervention. Statistically significant results were not evident in the Perceive quadrant, which measures strategies traditionally associated with sensory processing (attending, sensing and discriminating). Conclusion: Use of a Sensory Activity Schedule designed by an occupational therapist in collaboration with a teacher may improve cognitive strategy use during classroom tasks for children with ASD and intellectual disability as measured by PRPP cognitive task analysis