Patterns of sensory integration dysfunction in children from South Africa

Abstract

While patterns ofsensory integration (SI) function and dysfunction have been studied in the US for more than 50 years, exploration of whether or not similar patterns exist in cultures and communities outside of this countryhas been limited, with no studies conducted in South Africa to date. The purpose of this paper was to investigate and describe the similarities and differences of patterns of SI dysfunction between children in South Africa and those in the US. A quantitative, analytical study was conducted on a convenience sample of 223 of children who were identified as experiencing sensory integration difficulties. The Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests (SIPT) were used as the measuring instrument and correlation and factoranalysis were applied in order to describe similarities and differences. Consistencies in tests loading on patterns of Visuodyspraxia, Somatodyspraxia, BilateralIntegration and Sequencing dysfunctions and Tactile and Visual Discrimination dysfunctions were found. Therefore, this research confirmed similarities in the patterns of dysfunction in children in South Africa and confirmed the value of the SIPT in identifying sensory integration dysfunctions cross-culturally

.Key words: Sensory integration, Patterns of dysfunction