Autism

Use of the Vibroacoustic Chair with Seventeen Students of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit’s Autistic Program

Linda L. Sanders, RMT-BC, Allegheny Intermediate Unit Autistic Program, New York

This paper provides a summary of observations during a six week period of using a vibroacoustic chair with twenty students enrolled a special education program for autistic children. Each student was provided with a 5-15 minute VA session and was observed both before and after the session by staff members at the school. Staff recorded whether or not each child was attending to a task, completed a task, gave eye contact to the teacher, remained in their seat, and refrained from participating in self-stimulatory behavior. When a child was successful in one of the areas being observed, it was recorded as a “positive factor” (+). When a child was unsuccessful in one of the areas being observed, it was recorded as a “negative factor” (-). The total number of positive and negative factors observed both before and after each of the Somatron sessions were calculated. Overall, it was found that the number of positive factors observed increased, and the number of negative factors decreased after the use of the VA equipment.

Source: Lifesounds