Adjunctive sensory integration therapy for children with developmental disabilities in a family-based early intervention program

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Objective: In this study, we investigated whether adjunctive sensory integration therapy (SIT) can benefit children with developmental disabilities (DD) who participated in a family-based early intervention program. Methods: Children aged 2–4 years who had been diagnosed with a DD were placed into 1 of 3 intervention groups. Children in the day-care group (n = 15) received a daily, family-based treatment program in a day-care center. Those in the outpatient clinic (OC) + SIT group (n = 15) participated in a weekly outpatient family-based treatment program with an adjunctive SIT. The OC group (n = 15) participated in a weekly outpatient family-based treatment program, which was used as the control group. With the copy of Mullen Scale of Early Learning (MSEL), we assessed all children both before and after a six-month of intervention. Furthermore, we asked children's caregivers to fill out the both survey copies of the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF and the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form. Results: Children in the day-care group demonstrated significant improvements in all development domains as measured with MSEL (p < 01 or p < 0.001). Children in the OC + SIT group exhibited similar developmental progress as those in the day-care group. Furthermore, the OC + SIT group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in receptive language (p < 01) and early learning composite score (p < 01) than the children in the OC group. But the caregivers' quality of life and parenting stress remained unchanged through the six-month intervention. Conclusion: Our findings revealed the potential effect of adjunctive SIT on children's development. The authors hope that our study data can provide a reference for early intervention strategies for children with DD.