Introduction: The aim of this study was to find the impact of sensory integration therapy on language development in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) children.
Patients and Methods: Sixty-eight ASD children were enrolled in this study, their ages ranged from 36 - 114 months, 56 males and 12 females, divided into two groups (group I received language therapy sessions together with sensory integration therapy sessions, group II received language therapy sessions only) went through two stages of evaluation before and after receiving their sessions with one year apart. All children were subjected to the Stanford Bienne Intelligence Scale 5th edition Arabic version, Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), language assessment by Modified Preschool Language Scale -4th edition Arabic form (PLS-4), sensory profile assessment by Short Sensory profile (SSP).
Results: The language abilities improved equally in both groups of the study, although receptive language abilities show little improvement in group I, it was of non-significant statistical difference, the improvement in their language abilities was mostly related to the language rehabilitation program.
Conclusion: The immediate treatment effects of sensory integration therapy (SIT) were diffused as it focuses on preparing the child's primitive abilities to attend and learn rather than practice and explore specifically targeted behaviors. It should be combined with other approaches to reach a comprehensive one that may produce the desired outcomes. Future studies are required on larger samples to clarify if SIT has more long-lasting and generalized effects or not.