By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on May 22, 2013
New research suggests performing simple sensory exercises at home may improve the behaviors of children with autism.
The treatment, known as environmental enrichment, led to significant gains in behaviors among autistic boys between the ages of 3 and 12. Parents used everyday items such as scents, spoons and sponges to perform the sessions, said researchers from the University of California Irvine.
Study co-authors Drs. Cynthia Woo and Michael Leon randomly assigned 28 boys to one of two groups, balanced for age and autism severity.
For half a year, all subjects participated in standard autism therapies, but those in one group also had daily sensory enrichment exercises.
Parents of these children were given a kit containing household products to increase environmental stimulation, including essential-oil fragrances such as apple, lavender, lemon and vanilla. The boys smelled four of these scents a day and listened to classical music each evening.
In addition, the parents conducted twice-daily sessions of four to seven exercises with their children involving different combinations of sensory stimuli touch, temperature, sight and movement among them. Each session took 15 to 30 minutes to complete.
After six months of therapy, 42 percent of the children in the enrichment group showed significant improvement in behaviors commonly affected by autism such as relating to people, having typical emotional responses and listening compared with 7 percent in the standard-care group.
They also scored higher in cognitive function, whereas average scores for the boys in the standard-care group decreased. Moreover, 69 percent of parents in the enrichment group reported improvement, compared with 31 percent of parents in the standard-care group.
Because parents can give their child sensory enrichment using items typically available in their home, this therapy provides a low-cost option for enhancing their childs progress, said Woo, an assistant project scientist in neurobiology and behavior.
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Home-based Sensory Exercises Can Benefit Autistic Kids