Sensory Integration and the Child: 25th Anniversary Edition

This classic handbook, from the originator of sensory integration theory, is now available in an updated, parent-friendly edition. Retaining all the features that made the original edition so popular with both parents and professionals, "Sensory Integration and the Child" remains the best book on the subject. With a new foreward by Dr. Florence Clark and commentaries by recognized experts in sensory integration, this volume explains sensory integrative dysfunction, how to recognize it, and what to do about it. Helpful tips, checklists, question-and-answer sections, and parent resources make the new edition more informative and useful. Indispensible reading for parents, this book is also an excellent way to improve communication between therapist, parents and teachers. The original edition was the first book to explicate sensory integrative dysfunction, and this edition offers new insights and helpful updates in an easy-to-use format. Dr. A. Jean Ayres began to develop sensory integration theory, as well as the evaluation procedures and intervention strategies that were associated with this framework, in the 1950s. When the book "Sensory Integration and Child" was first published in the late 1970s, many aspects of her work were becoming more widely known. Although she was a dedicated researcher and educator, Dr. Ayres was foremost a therapist who worked tirelessly to help the children and families who to her therapy clinic. Over and over again, she listened to the frustration parents expressed at not understanding their children's behavior, often followed by relief at having those problems named and explained, and hope when a plan for intervention was offered. Dr. Ayres wrote this book in order to bring a similar sense of relief and hope to families beyond those who were able to come to her clinic. Because she recognized that parents commonly went first to doctors, therapists, and teachers for help with the developmental or educational concerns they had about their children, she also wrote this book to help those professionals assist families as well. Part 1: Sensory Integration and the Brain Chapter 1: What Is Sensory Integration? An Introduction to the Concept Chapter 2: Watching Sensory Integration Develop: The Development of Sensory Integration From Infancy to Middle Childhood Chapter 3:The Nervous System Within: Understanding How the Brain Works and the Importance of Sensation Part 2: Sensory Integrative Dysfunction Chapter 4: What Is Sensory Integrative Dysfunction? Symptoms, Causes, and Levels Chapter 5: Disorders Involving the Vestibular System: The Sense of Movement and How It Influences the Development of Many Skills Chapter 6: Developmental Dyspraxia: The Process of Learning New Motor Skills and Why This Is Hard for Some Children Chapter 7: Tactile Defensiveness: The Sense of Touch and Why Some Children Are More Sensitive Than Others Chapter 8: Visual Perception and Auditory-Language Disorders: The Perception of Sight and Sound and Its Relationship to Learning and Language Chapter 9: The Child With Autism: Understanding the Special Sensory Integration Needs and Challenges Associated With This Diagnosis Part 3: What Can Be Done About the Problem Chapter 10: Assessment and Intervention: How Therapy Using a Sensory Integration Approach Can Help Chapter 11: What Parents Can Do: How Parents Can Help Their Children With Sensory Integrative Dysfunction Appendix A: Chapter Commentaries Appendix B: Literature Reviews Appendix C: Therapeutic Equipment Appendix D: Some Questions Parents Ask- and the Answers