Sensory integration is an innate process in the brain that organizes environmental stimuli, allowing the body to react to sensations like touch or control limb orientation. Sensory integration OT works with clients who struggle with sensory processing through the gradual exposure to stimuli that activate multiple senses.
Throughout every second of the day, your senses are taking in sights, sounds, and sensations that shape how you move through the world. What happens when your brain struggles to process these sensations as you experience them? Sensory integration refers to an intervention approach in occupational therapy (OT) designed to help patients more easily participate in everyday activities.
In St. Catherine University’s Online Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) program, our dedicated faculty and staff prepare students to graduate in as few as 16 months, armed with knowledge of the latest standards and practices and ready to tackle the NBCOT Exam for OTA certification. With a focus on holistic practice, the online OTA program’s comprehensive curriculum empowers students to confidently enter an OTA career, ready to help clients across the lifespan live their most fulfilling lives.
Sensory integration within OT is just one type of intervention you may assist with as an OTA. Explore what sensory integration means and how it relates to occupational therapy.
What is an OTA? Find out everything you need to know.
What Is Sensory Integration?
Sensory integration is a process the brain uses to internalize and organize sensory stimulation from the environment. Sensory integration disorder is a condition in which sensory information is not integrated or organized appropriately, resulting in discomfort and difficulty functioning in stimulating environments.
Sensory integration can be categorized into three primary senses:
- Tactile: Processes signals from nerves under the skin’s surface related to sensations of light touch, pain, temperature, and pressure.
- Vestibular: Refers to the system in the inner ear that detects movement and the body’s orientation in space (e.g., whether the head is upright or tilted).
- Proprioceptive: Consists of the muscles, joints, and tendons that provide a subconscious awareness of the body’s positioning, creating the necessary signals for movements like sitting, standing, and fine motor skills.
These three sensory systems are interconnected and continue to build complex interrelationships with other systems in the brain throughout development. Together, they are fundamental to how humans experience, interpret, and respond to stimuli in the world around them.
Sensory Integration in Occupational Therapy
In response to continued diagnoses of sensory integration disorder, several theories for treatment and intervention have been developed. The most widely recognized and evidence-based framework was developed by A. Jean Ayres, commonly referred to as Ayres Sensory Integration (ASI).
OT for sensory integration disorder is primarily an intervention for children with documented difficulties processing sensory information, often seen in individuals diagnosed with autism. Since ASI techniques are designed to help clients improve their sensory processing, the framework is shown to be effective for children, as their brains are still developing new connections.
The proper application of ASI requires incorporating activities that target the sensory systems interfering with the child’s daily routine, typically during playtime. ASI activities should integrate multiple sensory systems simultaneously and utilize forms of play that appeal to the child. In this way, sensory integration occupational therapy can emulate real life and lessen any reservations the child may have about participating.
Discover more ways that occupational therapy helps those with autism.
Sensory Integration Techniques
According to ASI guidelines, sensory integration interventions are individualized, led by the client, and support an appropriate response to a challenging situation. Each treatment plan will be tailored to the person’s specific needs, considering areas of difficulty, the person’s interests, and whether they are over- or under-responsive to sensory input. Outcomes of interventions are continuously monitored, and adjustments are made to activities to gradually increase stimulation levels.
While not every ASI intervention will utilize these tools, sensations may be triggered by:
- Brushes
- Swings
- Trampolines
- Balls
Activities can also involve deep pressure, joint compression, and body massage to heighten sensory stimulation.
How OTA Programs Prepare Students for Sensory Integration
The recognized Ayres Sensory Integration approach should only be implemented by a therapist with specialized postgraduate training. As an OTA, however, you may assist with delivering and adapting care plans created by a credentialed occupational therapist.
In your OTA education, such as the online OTA program at St. Kate’s, you will work through three learning components: online coursework, skills labs, and fieldwork. While the coursework and skills labs will teach you the fundamental theory and techniques that you’ll need in your career, your OTA fieldwork is where you will gain experience applying your education in real-world scenarios.
Fieldwork will be conducted in four approved settings; common practice environments, however, include hospitals, schools, nursing homes, outpatient centers, and mental health facilities. You are most likely to encounter ASI activities in outpatient centers or mental health facilities, although a recent study in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy also highlights the benefits of this intervention in school environments. There, occupational therapists can work with clients in the environment that is challenging for them.
Learn more about the benefits and career opportunities of an online OTA degree.
Become a World-Changer with St. Kate’s Online OTA Program
As an OTA, understanding sensory integration activities and how they are used in the field is one way you can help build a brighter future for your clients. This aligns with St. Kate's mission to teach students to become leaders in their communities and transform the lives they touch for the better. If you are ready to make a difference, an admissions counselor can help you complete the program eligibility requirements and submit an application before your desired start date.
Contact the admissions team at St. Kate’s to discover how you can join our mission.
