Effects of Rocking on Attention and Arousal

Introduction: Difficulties regulating attention and arousal underlie common developmental conditions and impact performance in academic and work tasks. Sensory-based activities such as sitting in a rocker chair may help regulate attention and arousal by providing sensory stimulation. This pilot study assessed autonomic nervous system activity (ANS) while seated in a specially designed rocking chair providing vestibular sensation during a performance task. Methods: Thirty-four adults (aged 20-35 years) were randomized to either a rocker chair (Virco Zuma, n = 17) or static chair (n =17) while performing cognitive tasks in a counterbalanced design. ANS measures of skin conductance level (SCL) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were taken at 3-minute periods at baseline, performance, and recovery to assess sympathetic and parasympathetic activation respectively. Results: For the group using the stationary chair first, sympathetic activity increased from baseline to task (p=.000) and baseline to recovery (p=.002). Likewise with the Zuma chair first group, sympathetic activity increased from baseline to task (p=.000) and baseline to recovery (p=.000). For the Zuma chair group only, sympathetic activity decreased from task to recovery (p=.000). RSA did not have any statistically significant changes for either group. Discussion: While these findings were not consistent with the hypothesis that chair type impacts a change in ANS during performance, only the Zuma chair first group had a significant decrease in sympathetic activity from task to recovery. This suggests that using a rocker chair may help decrease arousal level after the task. Further research with larger samples sizes and longer duration tasks is needed to further validate this finding

Parents\u27 Goals: An Analysis of Therapist Reasoning

Purpose: Illustrate the use of DDDM to develop parent-identified goals for occupational therapy and to identify underlying sensory integration factors hypothesized to be impacting participation

Sensory Adaptive Environment to Enhance Participation in Healthcare for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Interdisciplinary Design Thinking Approach

Introduction/Background Participation in healthcare for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be overwhelming resulting in stressful responses safety concerns.¹ Sensory features impact healthcare participation. Up to 84% of individuals with ASD experience atypical sensory features of : - Hyper or hypo reactivity to sensation.² - Unusual sensory interests in the environment.² - Poor sensory integration.² Families may refrain from participation in medical care to prevent negative experiences, contributing to occupational deprivation.¹ Sensory Adaptive Environments (SAE) may improve participation for autistic persons.1,3,

An Interprofessional, Tailored Behavioral Intervention for Sleep Problems in Autism: Use of Sensory Data to Inform Intervention

Purpose: The purpose of this poster is to demonstrate how Sensory Profile data informed occupational therapy sleep interventions for two participants as part of an Interprofessional Tailored Behavioral Intervention study

Program of Research in Sensory Features in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Objectives Increase awareness about autism and autism research in the Jefferson community Identify collaborators and partners Highlight on-campus student activities Brainstorm on future collaboration