Ayres Sensory Integration® Therapy is a specialist Occupational Therapy intervention for children and young people whose sensory integration differences are affecting their ability to participate in everyday activities.
At Connect, ASI Therapy is delivered by appropriately trained Occupational Therapists within our specialist Sensory Integration clinic, using suspended and movement-based equipment to provide individualised sensory and motor experiences.
Intervention follows a comprehensive assessment and is guided by the child or young person's individual sensory integration profile, functional needs and agreed therapy goals. Sessions typically last one hour and are carefully planned and adapted by the therapist according to how the young person presents and responds on the day.
ASI Therapy is active, playful and child-led, so to the child it may look and feel very different from traditional therapy. A session might involve swinging, climbing, jumping, crashing, balancing, pulling, pushing, navigating obstacle courses or creating imaginative movement challenges using specialist equipment. Behind the play, however, there is significant clinical reasoning. The Occupational Therapist is continually observing how the child responds to vestibular, proprioceptive, tactile and other sensory information, alongside their postural control, coordination, bilateral integration, body awareness, praxis and ability to organise increasingly complex actions. The therapist follows the child's interests and intrinsic motivation while carefully adapting activities to provide the "just-right challenge" — challenging enough to promote development and adaptive responses, without making the activity overwhelming or unachievable.
The therapist is an active participant within the session, rather than simply observing or directing activities from the side. They continually assess the child's responses and use their specialist clinical reasoning to grade the activity, alter the sensory input, adapt the environment and change the level of challenge. This may involve changing the speed or direction of movement, adjusting equipment, introducing additional proprioceptive or tactile experiences, changing the demands of an activity or following the child's ideas to create new challenges. The therapist also works to establish a safe and trusting therapeutic relationship, recognising that connection, play, autonomy and the child's motivation are important parts of successful intervention.
ASI is a specific therapeutic approach and is different from simply providing sensory activities or access to sensory equipment. At Connect, intervention is delivered in accordance with the principles of the Ayres Sensory Integration Fidelity Measure, which helps ensure therapy reflects the core features of authentic ASI intervention. This includes providing appropriate sensory opportunities within a specialist environment, supporting optimal levels of alertness, encouraging the child to organise their own actions, facilitating successful adaptive responses, providing the right level of challenge, collaborating with the child in activity choices and developing a positive therapeutic relationship. The therapist therefore does not follow a fixed sequence of exercises. Therapy is dynamic and responsive, with the session continually changing according to the child's ideas, responses and therapeutic needs.
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