Statement: occupational therapy provision for children with learning disabilities and/or mild to moderate perceptual and motor deficits.

This paper discusses three major issues in the provision of occupational therapy services to persons with learning disabilities and/or mild to moderate perceptual and motor deficits. The issues are (a) the historical influence of federal legislation on the scope and content of occupational therapy services to persons with these disabilities; (b) the provision of occupational therapy services for this population from infancy to adulthood; and (c) the context of service provision and efficacy of occupational therapy models.

An overview of Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests.

This paper reviews the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests (SIPT) (Ayres, 1989b), including its history and development, standardization, reliability, validity, and interpretation. Based on decades of theory development and earlier standardized tests, the SIPT represents a sound assessment tool for the evaluation of sensory integration and praxis in children. The SIPT's implications for the field of occupational therapy are important and widespread. This article serves as an introduction to other papers in this issue that have used the SIPT as a research tool.

Introduction.

No abstract available for this article.

Possible pubertal effect on therapeutic gains in an autistic girl.

A deaf, partially sighted, severely retarded autistic girl, 11 years, 6 months of age, received approximately 2 years of occupational therapy, where sensory integration procedures were employed to reduce self-stimulation. Videotaped time samples of the amount of stereotypies showed a consistent reduction from the time of starting therapy to an interruption for vacation and surgery for scoliosis 46 weeks later. On returning to therapy after a 9-week break, self-stimulation had greatly increased and did not return to the presurgery level during an additional 55 weeks of therapy, 30 of which followed the removal of a cast. Menarche occurred 1 week after removing the cast. Increased self-stimulation is linked to reduced inclination toward environmental interaction as well as to an interruption of intervention and possible pubertal effect. Brief reports on four other autistic adolescents who received similar therapy are consistent with the conjecture of frequent pubertal regression.

Influence of sensory integration procedures on language development.

The relationship between language development and sensory integration was explored through single case experimental studies of one female and three male aphasic children ranging in age from 4 years, 0 months to 5 years, 3 months. Other agencies had assessed all the children in the area of language development at least 6 months before the start of occupational therapy. Three of the four children had received either speech therapy, special education specific to aphasia, or both, before starting occupational therapy. Additional baseline data on language expression and comprehension, as well as on sensory integrative functioning, were gathered before beginning a year of occupational therapy that involved sensory integration procedures. Inspection of rate of language growth before and after starting occupational therapy showed a consistent increase in rate of growth in language comprehensive concomitant with occupational therapy compared to previous growth rate. The two children with depressed postrotary nystagmus demonstrated notable gains on expressive language measures.

The use of crafts in occupational therapy for the physically disabled.

In this article, the historical use of crafts in occupational therapy for the physically disabled patient is reviewed and the results of a survey aimed at describing current craft use is presented. A questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 250 occupational therapists throughout the United States who chose physical disabilities as their specialty section. Results demonstrated that, while most therapists use crafts to some degree in their therapy programs, other treatment modalities such as therapeutic exercise and activities of daily living were used a greater percentage of the time. Reasons for using crafts, problems with justification of craft use, and participation of certified occupational therapy assistants in craft programs are discussed. Questions are raised concerning the role of therapeutic crafts in the past and present practice of occupational therapy for the physically disabled. Recommendations are made for future research.