Outcomes of sensory integration therapy in children with autism spectrum disorder: a non-randomized pre-post intervention study

Sensory processing abnormalities have been linked to autism symptoms. Sensory integration therapy (SIT) affects autism symptom severity, sensory profile and related socio-demographic/clinical variables. Thirty patients, aged 3 to 10 years, meeting autism spectrum disorder (ASD) case definition were recruited from SIT clinic, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Okasha Institute of Psychiatry, Ain Shams University, Cairo, between May 2023 and January 2025, assessed by socio-demographic/clinical questionnaire, Arabic versions of Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children Present and Lifetime Version, Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scale Fifth Edition, Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), and Sensory Profile Caregiver Questionnaire. Participants received a 12-week SIT program (one 30-minute session weekly), then post-intervention reassessment using CARS and Sensory Profile. The most common age was 3–5 years (46.66%), with males comprising 80%. Most participants (73.33%) IQ scores were 60–64. Mean CARS scores decreased from 33.9 ± 3.42 to 31.95 ± 3.4, mild autism increasing to 76.67%, moderate decreasing to 10% and unchanged severe cases. Mostly affected domains were vestibular processing, emotional/social responses, behavioural outcomes of sensory processing and fine motor/perceptual. Post-intervention, the most improved were vestibular processing, emotional/social response, emotionally reactive, inattention/distractibility ( p -value < 0.001), auditory processing, modulation of body position and movement affecting activity level ( p -value 0.001). The least were sensory processing related to endurance/tone and low endurance/tone. SIT effectively reduced autism severity and improved key sensory and behavioural domains of sensory processing, particularly in mild to moderate cases. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06882642, registered March 2025 (retrospectively registered).