3-years-follow-up interpersonal-ecological sensorimotor (IES) program in severe nonverbal ASC children: outcomes in behavior, sensory motor processing and daily living skills

FURLAND, NATALIA EDITH; SALES,BRUNO; SUMAN, SERENA; SINDELAR, MARIA TERESA

Praga

Congreso; 23rd World Congress of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP); 2018

International Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions

ObjectivesNonverbal ASC subjects with intellectual disability, developmental regressionand self-injurious behavior represent more than one-third of people with autism.Surprisingly, they are underrepresented in the literature because they are oftenexcluded to participate in outpatient studies, which may limit the knowledge ofASC etiology, and negatively impact in the effectiveness of therapies. Sensorymotor issues are common symptoms in autism and acquire special relevance inseverely affected ASC people. Autism therapies usually focused on cognitiveskills without taking into account sensorimotor processing basis, even thoughautistic people refer profound sensorimotor impairments. Our goal is to showoutcomes using a 3-yr follow up approach that works on sensorimotor-affectivebasis, in ecological settings and in alliance with families, school and professional team.Methods50 TD and 50 ASC Caucasian Argentinian children participated. The IESprogram was performed in an ASC subgroup, in naturalistic settings (home,playgrounds and school). Behavioral evaluation was assessed using TGMD-2,SSP, ABC, ADOS-2 and CARS scales.ResultsImpaired somatosensory perception and sensorimotor skills positively correlatedwith autism severity. IES program effectively improved both features in ASCchildren. This interpersonal-affective based sensorimotor approach had positiveimpact on social interactions, daily living skills and active play, which require proprioceptive awareness and force modulation.ConclusionsSensorimotor integration is critical in neurotypical development since it organizes structural capacities for interaction, communication and abstract thinking.Our findings highlight the essentiality of a sensorimotor-affective program withmeaningful engagement in every rehabilitation program for ASC children inorder to reach fully integrated functional skills.