Document Type

Capstone

Abstract

Children with autism spectrum disorder frequently have hyper-responsive reactlons to auditory stimuli from the environment when they are participating in community activities with their family. When these reactive behaviors become difficult to manage, participation in community activities tends to decrease. Occupational therapy practitioners need quality evidence-based information and strategies to effectively provide intervention to help mitigate these over-responsive reactions and help families increase their satisfaction during community participation. The purpose of this capstone project was to investigate potential causes of auditory hypersensitivity, define how maladaptive behavioral responses can deter family participation in community activities, and formulate supportive strategies to help children with ASD cope with the challenges brought on by over-responsiveness to sound. A training in-service on auditory hypersensitivity was developed to educate the staff at The Cyzner Institute, which is a school in Charlotte, North Carolina that specializes in children with ASD. The training presentation was organized into three parts. The first part discussed potential etiology related to auditory hypersensitivity. The second part examined how over-reactions to auditory stimuli can manifest as challenging behavior. The final section of the presentation described several strategies for managing and shaping challenging behavior to increase the likelihood that families of children with ASD would engage ln community activities with the strategies in place. A pre-survey and post-survey were administered to the participants to gauge their knowledge of auditory hypersensitivity before and after the in-service. The results of comparisons between the two surveys suggest that there was a gain in knowledge, confidence, and ability of participants to provide intervention and family education to improve community participation. In conclusion, the information gained from researching the topic of auditory hypersensitivity was effectively synthesized into an in-service presentation and training that improved knowledge and skill level for the staff at The Cyzner Institute.

Publication Date

4-17-2023

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