Interventions to facilitate auditory, visual, and motor integration in autism: a review of the evidence.
Skip auditory integration and old-school sensory rooms for autism—evidence is still too thin.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Dawson et al. (2000) hunted for solid proof that sensory-motor therapies help kids with autism.
They screened every paper on auditory integration training, sensory integration, and classic OT.
Only tiny or weak studies turned up, so they graded the whole field as “not ready.”
What they found
No therapy had enough good data to earn a green light.
The authors told clinicians to skip these treatments until stronger evidence arrives.
How this fits with other research
Smits-Engelsman et al. (2018) and Peng et al. (2026) later showed large motor gains in children with DCD.
These newer reviews look like a contradiction, but they tested different kids and newer exercise packages.
Izawa et al. (2012) helps explain why autism results lag behind: autistic children lean too hard on proprioception and adapt more slowly, so standard sensory gyms may miss the mark.
Why it matters
If you serve autistic clients, steer families away from commercial listening programs and generic SI rooms.
Instead, borrow the active, task-specific drills that helped DCD studies shine, then tweak them for slower proprioceptive learners.
Track small motor wins weekly; share data before chasing the next shiny sensory gadget.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Evidence is reviewed on the prevalence of sensory and motor abnormalities in autism and the effectiveness of three interventions designed to address such abnormalities--sensory integration therapy, traditional occupational therapy, and auditory integration training. Although sensory processing and motor abnormalities are neither universal nor specific to autism, the prevalence of such abnormalities in autism is relatively high. There is, however, little controlled research on the effectiveness of interventions designed to address these abnormalities. Four objective outcome studies of sensory integration therapy were identified. These were of such small scale that no firm conclusions regarding efficacy could be made. No empirical studies of traditional occupational therapy in autism were found. Five studies of auditory integration training were found. Results of these studies provided no, or at best equivocal, support for the use of auditory integration training in autism.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2000 · doi:10.1023/a:1005547422749