Supporting Clinical Identification of Children with Sensory Integration Challenges: A Decision Guide for Primary Care Providers
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
- (1)
- All population terms + screening;
- (2)
- All population terms +all referral terms;
- (3)
- (All population terms + screening) + all primary care terms;
- (4)
- (All population terms +all referral terms) + all primary care terms;
- (5)
- (All population terms + all referral terms) + all occupational therapy terms;
- (6)
- ((All population terms + all referral terms) + (all occupational therapy terms) + (all primary care terms)).
3. Results
3.1. Understanding Sensory Integration
3.2. Screening and Referral
3.3. The Need for a Sensory Integration Decision Guide
- Is the child picky about certain tastes or textures when eating?
- Does the child have difficulty getting dressed or finding comfortable clothing?
- Has the child been sensitive to sounds?
- Does the child withdraw when there is noisy group play?
- Do sensory experiences like these interfere with social or academic functioning?
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions and Future Directions
6. Limitations
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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| Population | (“sensory processing” or “sensory integration” or “sensory modulation” or “sensory-based motor”) AND (dysfunction or disorder or challenge or difficult *) | |
| Concept | (screening or “early detection” or “early diagnosis” or “early identification”) | (referral or “referral process” or “referral pathway” or “decision guide”) |
| Context | (“primary care provider” or “primary health care provider” or “primary healthcare provider”) | (“occupational therapy” or “occupational therapist” or “occupational therapists” or ot) |
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Lane, S.J.; Schoen, S.A.; Schaaf, R.; Bundy, A.; Mailloux, Z.; Roley, S.S.; May-Benson, T.A.; Parham, L.D. Supporting Clinical Identification of Children with Sensory Integration Challenges: A Decision Guide for Primary Care Providers. Brain Sci. 2025, 15, 1184. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15111184
Lane SJ, Schoen SA, Schaaf R, Bundy A, Mailloux Z, Roley SS, May-Benson TA, Parham LD. Supporting Clinical Identification of Children with Sensory Integration Challenges: A Decision Guide for Primary Care Providers. Brain Sciences. 2025; 15(11):1184. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15111184
Chicago/Turabian StyleLane, Shelly J., Sarah A. Schoen, Roseann Schaaf, Anita Bundy, Zoe Mailloux, Susanne Smith Roley, Teresa A. May-Benson, and L. Diane Parham. 2025. "Supporting Clinical Identification of Children with Sensory Integration Challenges: A Decision Guide for Primary Care Providers" Brain Sciences 15, no. 11: 1184. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15111184
APA StyleLane, S. J., Schoen, S. A., Schaaf, R., Bundy, A., Mailloux, Z., Roley, S. S., May-Benson, T. A., & Parham, L. D. (2025). Supporting Clinical Identification of Children with Sensory Integration Challenges: A Decision Guide for Primary Care Providers. Brain Sciences, 15(11), 1184. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15111184

