Title: The sensory approaches on improving gross motor skills in children with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review

Authors: Li Ziming; Saiful Hasley Bin Raml; Muhammad Hibatullah Bin Romli; Ma Qinqiu; Raja Ahmad Azmeer Bin Raja Ahmad Effendi; Putri Suhaiza Binti Sulaiman; Chu Qingqing; Wang Beili; Xia Yingqiao

Addresses: Universiti Putra Malaysia, Petaling District, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia ' Universiti Putra Malaysia, Petaling District, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia ' Universiti Putra Malaysia, Petaling District, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia ' Hubei Polytechnic University, Jinghu District, Wuhu City, Anhui Province, China ' Universiti Putra Malaysia, Petaling District, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia ' Universiti Putra Malaysia, Petaling District, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia ' Universiti Putra Malaysia, Petaling District, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia ' Universiti Putra Malaysia, Petaling District, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia ' Universiti Putra Malaysia, Petaling District, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract: Many children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have considerable difficulty with gross motor skills. However, the effects of sensory approaches on improving gross motor behaviours in children with ASD from an academic standpoint are still unclear. This review offers a complete investigation of empirical papers on sensory methods, notably those on sensory integration therapy's gross motor skill benefits. A search on medical databases namely Academic Search Complete, Medline Complete, CINAHL, Scopus and PubMed was conducted to identify articles related to sensory in children with ASD. Using PRISMA, a total of 18 articles from 718 articles were selected for the final analytic procedure. After the screening, sorting and organising of the data using thematic analysis, conclusions were derived that were further analysed. Tactile and vestibular sensory techniques improve gross motor abilities, according to the findings. This review supports sensory techniques to increase gross motor skills in ASD children theoretically.

Keywords: sensory approaches; motor skills; children; autism spectrum disorder.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBHR.2024.137579

International Journal of Behavioural and Healthcare Research, 2024 Vol.9 No.2, pp.73 - 100

Received: 08 May 2023
Accepted: 12 Jul 2023
Published online: 26 Mar 2024 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article