These interventions show promising results, but do not have enough support for this toolkit to recommend them without discretion. It is encouraged that teachers, parents, or therapists collect data if they use these interventions to ensure that the intervention is working and their children are making significant gains. Otherwise, it would be recommended to allocate time, energy, and resources to other interventions that have more support.
Single-Domain Sensory Based Interventions
*These interventions do not cause harm and may have potential benefits to children with sensory difficulties. Further research is needed to confirm these intervention’s significant effects, but they are worth trying (Case-Smith, Weaver, & Fristad, 2014):
- Swinging
- Deep pressure using a beanbag
- Rocking
- Jumping
- Crawling
- Chew tube
- Joint Compression
- Brushing
Did not have any effect on self-injurious behaviors (Case-Smith, Weaver, Fristad, 2014; Watling & Hauser, 2015)
Multi-Domain Sensory Based Interventions
Multisensory Sensory Behavior Interventions (Multisensory SBI) demonstrated significant improvements (Watling & Hauser, 2015):
- Autistic behaviors
- Cognition
- Enhanced sensory experiences
- Sustained focus
- Communication
- Decreased repetitive behaviors
- Communication (Preis & Mckenna, 2014):
- Spontaneity
- Complexity of utterance
- Engagement in 75% of participants
These specific approaches had mixed results showing no significant differences but possible improvements in responsiveness (Case-Smith, Weaver, &
Fristad, 2014; Watlin & Hauser, 2015).
Examples of Multisensory Based Interventions include:
- Swinging or bouncing on a ball before an activity
- Dynamic seating
Therapy ball chairs had mixed results showing either no consistency with results, but a single study using individually fitted therapy ball seating indicated children using therapy balls displayed improvement in engagement and in-seat behaviors (Case-Smith, Weaver, & Fristad, 2014; Watlin & Hauser, 2015).
Modifications to the Sensory Environment
A study of *[Define what this intervention is] Improved (Watling & Hauser, 2015):
- Attention
- Emotional Control
- Classroom Participation
