Intervention on Sensory and Psychomotor Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Giulia Savarese, Rosa Mandia, Aldo Diavoletto, Michele Piscitelli, Francesca Impemba, Annatania Di Siervi, Luna Carpinelli, Franca Bottiglieri, Marianna Sessa, Giulio Corrivetti
This study examined the profiles of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with differing levels of diagnostic severity (referred to as A, A/B and B) in various areas of functioning, including language, sensory processing and behaviour. The participants were assessed using pre-test measures and the results were as follows. As far as language is concerned, the majority of the participants demonstrated an absence of verbal language (50%) or a repertoire of just a few words (20%), with only 30% demonstrating verbal language. The three diagnostic types differed significantly with type B presenting greater difficulty in language compared to type A, presenting stronger language skills. In terms of sensory processing, hyporeactivity was mainly observed in sight, smell and touch, whilst hyper-reactivity was more common in hearing and touch. The sensory patterns varied between diagnostic types with diversified hyper- or hypo- reactive profiles. Behavioural and social reactions were also analysed. Most of the participants manifested severe or moderate social difficulty both in relations with their peers and with adults. Provocative behaviours were seen more frequently at a medium to low level. Type B individuals presented more severity in their aptitudinal and social reactions, whilst type A presented a more moderate profile with better social skills. After initial assessment, the participants took part in a 3-month intervention in a motor sensory room and the longitudinal data will be analysed in order to evaluate the impact of the symptomatology of the different diagnostic groups. The results of this study will provide important insights for shaping effective therapeutic approaches.
Keywords
ASD, Sensory skills, Training.
