Mothers' Perspectives: Daily Life When Your Child Has Sensory Differences.

A child's sensory processing and sensory integration (SP-SI) differences can be a barrier to participation in daily life for both child and mother. Supporting mothers is advocated for, but little is known about the everyday experiences of these mothers. To gain an understanding of daily life for mothers and their children with SP-SI differences. Qualitative semi-structured interviews with six mothers were analyzed through thematic analysis. Theme 1 described the impact of child SP-SI on daily life, including challenges in occupations across environments, adaptations required, and the lack of knowledge and understanding from social and professional networks. Theme 2 identified what helps: empowering mothers through relationships based on listening, gaining knowledge, and understanding, and adapting the activity and the environment. Mothers report that their child's SP-SI differences impact daily occupations and social relationships. In addition, supportive relationships, adapting activities, and adapting the environment, support participation.

What Is Daily Life Like When You Have a Child With Sensory Processing and Sensory Integration Differences?To develop a better understanding of everyday life with a child with sensory processing and sensory integration (SP-SI) differences, mothers were asked about their experiences. Six mothers were individually interviewed. They reported challenges to everyday life at home, at school, and in their local communities, for example, sleep, mealtimes, and leisure choices were impacted for both themselves and their child. They faced a lack of understanding from family, friends, and professionals, and had to adjust their activities and routines to accommodate for their child's needs. It helped mothers to be listened to and to interact with other people who had knowledge and understanding of SP-SI differences. It also helped to be able to adjust activities, routines, and their environment to better suit their child's sensory needs.

Coaching Parents of Children with Sensory Integration Difficulties: A Scoping Review.

AIM: To review current evidence regarding the effectiveness of occupational therapy coaching interventions for parents of children with sensory integration difficulties, delivered to individuals or groups of parents. METHOD: A historical scoping review was completed of empirical research records to summarize what is known and how this information can guide future research. The process was guided by PRISMA guidelines. Inclusion criteria were English language and peer-reviewed empirical studies of parent coaching intervention for children with sensory processing or sensory integration difficulties. Five databases were searched. Papers were critically reviewed using McMaster's guidelines. RESULTS: Four studies met the search criteria. Three studies took a direct coaching approach with individual parents or families. The fourth study took a mixed educational/coaching approach with groups of parents and teachers. CONCLUSION: There is some evidence to conclude that occupational therapists can deliver individual parent-focused coaching interventions which impact positively on individual child goals, parental stress, and sense of competence. Group intervention can lead to caregivers' improved perceived and actual knowledge of sensory integration, as well as a sense of self-efficacy in dealing with sensory-related child behaviors. Current evidence is limited. Suggestions for future research are offered.

Myths about autism: An exploratory study using focus groups.

Individuals with autism are often stigmatised and isolated by their typically developing peers according to parental, teacher and self-reports. While quantitative studies often report negative attitudes towards individuals with autism, it is still unclear how understandings of autism influence attitudes. In this exploratory study, misconceptions or myths about autism, that is, the cognitive component of attitudes, were examined using focus groups. Purposive sampling was used to recruit undergraduate and postgraduate students, and adults with and without experience of autism, to one of the five focus groups (n = 37). Content analysis was used to identify emergent themes. The data identified seven commonly held beliefs about individuals with autism. The first four were related to social interaction, such as that people with autism do not like to be touched. The fifth reflected the view that all individuals with autism have a special talent, and the final two concerned beliefs that people with autism are dangerous. The findings from this study demonstrate that people with varying experience or knowledge of autism often hold inaccurate beliefs about autism. These findings improve our understandings of lay beliefs about autism and will aid the development and implementation of interventions designed to improve lay knowledge of autism.