TOPIC

Sensory integration research

Everything we have read on sensory integration. Each paper is summarised from the full article rather than its abstract, so the limitations are in there too, and the funding wherever the paper declares it.

135 PAPERS · PAGE 3 OF 3 · NEWEST FIRST

• OTCohort2025Relationships between sensory reactivity and occupational performance in children with paediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS).Australian occupational therapy journalDuring PANS exacerbations, higher sensory reactivity scores correlated with lower communication and daily living skills. However, sensory reactivity showed no significant link to socialisation scores. This suggests sensory issues explain functional decline in some areas, but other factors may drive social difficulties.
• OTSystematic Review2025Interoception and its application to paediatric occupational therapy: A scoping review.Australian occupational therapy journalInteroception is increasingly used in paediatric occupational therapy, but the evidence base is thin. Most included studies were small, uncontrolled, or opinion pieces. Structured programs exist, but rigorous research proving they improve participation or regulation is largely missing.
• OTCohort2025Sensory processing patterns and their relationships to coping and occupational engagement in mental health service users.Australian occupational therapy journalIn 97 mental health service users, lower occupational engagement was linked to higher sensory sensitivity, low registration, and sensation avoiding. Higher engagement was linked to sensation seeking. Avoidant coping was associated with sensation seeking, and emotion-focused coping with low registration.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Characterisation of Challenging Behaviours and Associated Genetic and Neurological Features in Cardiofaciocutaneous Syndrome.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRCaregivers of 61 children and adults with cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome reported high rates of challenging behaviour. Behaviours peaked in adolescence. Escape and physical discomfort were the most common functions. Pain, sleep problems, and sensory differences were linked to higher behaviour frequency.
• PTOTPilot2025Exploring Posturography in Children with Sickle Cell Disease.Physical & occupational therapy in pediatricsChildren with sickle cell disease scored lower on clinical balance tests but showed no deficits in computerized posturography. This suggests their balance problems are not caused by impaired sensory integration or weight-shifting strategies.
• OTCohort2025Use of sensory processing information in the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children at an Australian community hospital.Australian occupational therapy journalModified sensory scales helped identify autism traits like repetitive behaviours and social communication issues in children, but failed to distinguish ADHD from no diagnosis. The scales are exploratory and do not replace standard diagnostic assessments.
• OTCase Report2025Sensory integration combined with interoceptive interventions for functional urinary incontinence in children: a case report.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesA child with daytime urinary urgency and leakage had those symptoms resolve after 8 weeks of sensory integration and interoceptive training while continuing nightly desmopressin. Bedwetting decreased but persisted. This cannot separate the components or show the treatment works.
• OTCase-Control2025Oculomotor deficits in children with sensory processing difficulties.The British journal of occupational therapyChildren with sensory processing difficulties made more errors on anti-saccade tasks and showed less accurate vertical eye tracking. They had faster reaction times for correct anti-saccades. No differences were found in basic saccade timing or amplitude.
• OTSystematic Review2025Trauma-informed or sensory-based practices in preschool settings: A scoping review.Australian occupational therapy journalOnly 18 studies exist on trauma-informed or sensory-based practices in preschools. Most involved educators rather than therapists, and few measured child outcomes. This maps a gap in evidence for occupational therapy interventions rather than confirming what works.
• OTSystematic Review2025The role of occupational therapists in acute mental health inpatient settings: A systematic scoping review.Australian occupational therapy journalOccupational therapy interventions in acute mental health inpatient units are associated with improved engagement, reduced distress, and less reliance on restrictive practices like seclusion. Evidence is limited to small, non-randomised studies, so these findings describe potential roles rather than proven effects.
• OTSurvey2025Convergent Validity of the Feeding and Eating in AutiSm Together Assessment (FEAST).The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy AssociationCaregiver reports on FEAST lined up with two established feeding questionnaires for overall mealtime challenge severity. Its sensory, oral motor, and gastrointestinal subscales showed weaker links with the comparison tools. OTs can use it for feeding assessments.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Application of Sensory Subtypes: Understanding Core Autism Features, Adaptive Behaviors, and Motor Skills in Autistic Children.Journal of autism and developmental disordersAutistic children classified as having extreme-mixed sensory differences showed significantly lower motor skills, adaptive behavior, and higher repetitive behaviors compared to those with mild sensory differences. Children with attenuated-preoccupied sensory profiles demonstrated notably higher motor skills than the extreme-mixed and sensitive-distressed groups.
• OTOther2025Locus coeruleus tonic upregulation increases selectivity to inconspicuous auditory information in autistic compared to non-autistic individuals: a combined pupillometry and electroencephalography study.Molecular autismIn autistic individuals, pupil size rose more early in a passive listening task and was linked to stronger responses to background tones. This may reflect arousal-linked sensitivity to inconspicuous sounds, not a tested treatment.
• PTOTRCT2025Electrical vestibular stimulation to improve balance in older adults: a pilot randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationRepeated low-level electrical stimulation behind the ears reduced head sway during difficult standing tasks in older adults. The effect persisted for six months in the hardest condition. This is a small pilot, so do not change practice yet.
• OTSLPPilot2025Reported Barriers and Facilitators for Autistic Individuals, Persons with Other Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and Their Caregivers to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine: A Pilot Study.Journal of autism and developmental disordersSurvey respondents most often named knowledgeable staff and low-noise, less crowded spaces as helpful; logistics were the most common reported unhelpful part.
• PTOTPilot2025Noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation and static balance in parkinson's disease: a multimodal resting‑state fMRI feasibility study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn 41 patients with Parkinson's, one session of noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation improved Berg Balance scores immediately and at one week. Functional reach and discomfort also improved, but Timed Up and Go did not change significantly at first. No sham group was used.
• PTOTRCT2026Visual and visual-proprioceptive training improve gait via sensory reweighting after chronic stroke: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationVisual-proprioceptive integration training improved comfortable gait speed by 0.08 m/s more than control. It also reduced step-length asymmetry by 28.3% more than control. Oculomotor training alone did not significantly improve gait speed or symmetry compared to control.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025A longitudinal evaluation of gastrointestinal symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceChildren with autism reported gastrointestinal symptoms twice as often as typically developing peers, and these symptoms often persisted across childhood. The presence and number of these unexplained symptoms were linked to worse sleep, anxiety, and social communication scores.
• OTSLPCase-Control2025Associations Between Altered Auditory EEG Markers and Clinical Impairments in Fragile X Syndrome.Journal of autism and developmental disordersIn 41 people with fragile X syndrome and 46 controls, brain responses to repeated and changing sounds differed, and some differences tracked cognitive, autistic, daily living and ADHD symptoms. No treatment was tested.
• PTOTOther2026Noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation improves postural stability under virtual reality perturbation by enhancing vestibular processing and multisensory integration.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationIn healthy adults, noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation reduced sway and muscle co-contraction during virtual reality visual conflict. It also lowered reported cybersickness. The brain increased vestibular processing activity while decreasing cognitive load, suggesting more efficient balance control under sensory mismatch.
• OTSLPSurvey2026Exploring Alexithymia, Uncertainty, Anxious Arousal, and Social Anxiety as Mediators of the Relationship Between Sensory Processing Differences and Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors in Autistic Adults.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchIn autistic adults, sensory differences link to repetitive motor behaviors through anxious arousal and to insistence on sameness through intolerance of uncertainty. Social anxiety was not a mediator. Clinicians should assess these specific anxiety facets rather than assuming general social anxiety drives repetitive behaviors.
• PTOTSLPNarrative Review2026Exploring the autism and functional neurological disorder association: Considerations from biopsychosocial, neuropsychological and computational models.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceThis theoretical review links autism and functional neurological disorder through shared traits like sensory overload and difficulty identifying emotions. It suggests clinicians should screen for autism in FND patients to avoid misdiagnosis, but offers no tested interventions or outcome data.
• OTSLPCohort2025Sensory Processing Modalities and Their Associations With Academic Achievement in Autism and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.Journal of autism and developmental disordersDirect auditory processing tests, not parent reports of sensory issues, linked to reading and math scores in autistic and ADHD children. Poor ability to hear speech in noise tracked with lower academic achievement. This suggests checking hearing-in-noise skills, not just asking parents about sensory habits.
• OTSurvey2025Sensory Processing Patterns in People With Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.OTJR : occupation, participation and healthAdults with upper-limb CRPS described their senses working differently from most people's: high sensitivity to sensation and strong avoidance of it, with those under 65 also saying they miss more sensory input than most. A one-time survey, so patterns, not causes or treatments.
• OTSurvey2026Overlapping And Differentiating Clinical Features of Autism and Borderline Personality Disorder in Women and People Assigned Female at Birth: A Cross-Sectional Study.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic women and people assigned female at birth scored higher on sensory and social differences, sameness and camouflaging. Those meeting BPD criteria scored higher on identity disturbance, distress when alone and impulsivity. Difficulty identifying emotions was the one thing both groups shared.
• OTProtocol2025Indonesian Translation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Sensory Processing Measure-2 (SPM-2) for Preschool Children: A Study Protocol.Occupational therapy internationalA protocol for translating a sensory processing questionnaire into Indonesian. No data collected, no results reported, nothing to act on.
• OTOther2026Examining the Validity and Reliability of Evaluation in Ayres Sensory Integration Data Collected With Autistic Children: A Rasch Analysis.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchThe EASI sensory integration test battery is largely usable for autistic children. Fourteen of its 19 tests produced consistent scores. Five (AL, PF, PJP, TPL, TPO) did not, so use those with other assessment data rather than in isolation.
• OTOther2026Capturing Phenotypic Heterogeneity in Differentiated Sensory Processing Profiles: Non-Syndromic Autism and Fragile X Syndrome.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic children scored highest on all three sensory features. Children with FXS alone did not differ significantly from neurotypical peers. Sensory features linked to behavior problems in autism and FXS-only, but not in FXS with co-occurring autism.
• OTOther2026Atypical Predictive Processing Is Associated With Sensory Over-Responsivity in Autism.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchIn autism, brain activation to unexpected sounds and touches was higher than in typically developing controls, but group differences were minimal when a visual cue preceded the stimulus. Within the autism group, higher sensory over-responsivity was linked to less reduction in response to expected stimuli.
• OTCohort2026Exploring the alignment between occupational therapy using Ayres Sensory Integration® with children and occupation-centred practice: An observational study.Australian occupational therapy journalNone of the eight ASI-trained therapists demonstrated all 22 occupation-centred practice components. The most commonly missed were collaboration with families, client-chosen goals, and occupational outcome measures. ASI fidelity was met by all, but fidelity does not guarantee an occupational focus.
• OTPilot2026Enhancing Development Through Teleoccupational Therapy in Children With Cortical Visual Impairment: A Quasiexperimental Study.Occupational therapy internationalEight children with cortical visual impairment improved in cognitive, fine motor, and gross motor scores after 8 weeks of online occupational therapy. Play skills improved in some areas but not others. No control group means the gains cannot be separated from maturation or parent attention.
• PTOTNarrative Review2026Motor Disorders in Autism: From Comorbidity to Core Criterion.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchMotor signs like gait asymmetry, toe-walking, and postural instability are common in ASD and may precede social deficits. The authors propose these become diagnostic criteria rather than comorbidities, with a two-tier assessment framework for early screening.
• OTOther2026The Convergent Validity Between Two Adult Self-Report Sensory Processing Scales.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieTwo adult sensory processing questionnaires (ASH and SPM-2-Adult) show moderate agreement in young adults, so an OT can use either to profile a client's sensory profile. The ASH's Functional-Problem items correlate less consistently, so those subscales are not interchangeable.
• OTQualitative2026Performance of Daily Living Activities of Autistic Children With Sensory Processing Difficulties: Caregivers' Perceptions.Occupational therapy internationalStrong aversion to textures and poor motor planning made every daily task (bathing, feeding, dressing, hygiene, toileting) require constant adult help, according to caregivers of autistic children aged 3–8.
• PTOTRCT2026Rewiring the Senses: The Impact of Sensory Integration Therapy on Balance and Cognition in Cerebral Palsy.Occupational therapy internationalAdding sensory integration therapy to balance exercises did not significantly outperform balance exercises alone on the balance scale, but did produce significantly larger gains in cognitive scores across all measured domains in children with CP aged 6–10.