Response to intervention: The effects of tier 1 and tier 2 occupational therapy intervention on sensory processing for fifth-grade children

Sensory processing impacts a student's ability to participate in the classroom, yet there is a lack of studies analyzing the effect of occupational therapy (OT) services under the Response to Intervention (RtI) model on students' sensory processing. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of a manualized OT intervention, using the RtI model, on sensory processing in general education fifth-grade students and teachers' understanding of sensory processing. This pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study included an experimental group that received OT RtI (n = 17) and a control group that did not receive OT RtI but teachers attended a workshop on sensory processing (n = 27). Pretest and posttest results from the Sensory Processing Measure-2 (SPM-2) School Form and an online survey of teachers' understanding of sensory processing were collected. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to analyze pre- and post-intervention SPM-2 results for each participant. In the experimental group, one subcategory approached significance, a slight decline approaching significance in the planning subcategory, and no significant changes in the remaining subcategories. In the control group, one subcategory demonstrated significance. Teacher understanding and use of sensory processing strategies showed an overall improvement in both schools. Preliminary evidence suggests teacher workshops have the potential to improve teacher understanding of sensory processing.