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Biomedical subjects

K Ottenbacher

Publications and source records attributed to K Ottenbacher.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Oral sensorimotor therapy in the developmentally disabled: a multiple baseline study.

The efficacy of a program of sensorimotor facilitation procedures to improve oral motor function and feeding behaviors in students with severe developmental delay was explored. Four severely handicapped students were administered the oral habilitation program using a multiple baseline across-subjects design with staggered introduction of the treatment. Graphic analysis and the split middle method of trend estimation revealed that one subject evidenced an increase in weight and improved oral motor evaluation as a result of the intervention. Two other subjects displayed partial improvement. The correlates of treatment effectiveness are briefly discussed and the need for continued investigation is emphasized.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Patterns of postrotary nystagmus in three learning-disabled children.

This study explores the effect of a program of sensory integration therapy, with emphasis on vestibular stimulation activities, on the duration of postrotary nystagmus in three learning-disabled children. The single-subject methodology employed allowed a more individualistic and longitudinal investigation of nystagmus patterns in the three subjects. The graphic and statistical analysis of the data revealed that two of the three subjects evidenced significant changes in postrotary nystagmus durations over the 25-week period of the study. Subject 1, with initially low nystagmus durations, displayed an increase in duration, whereas subject 2, with initially normal postrotary nystagmus durations, exhibited a response decline in nystagmus durations. The postrotary nystagmus durations of subject 2 remained relatively stable across both the baseline and intervention periods. The therapeutic implications of the findings are discussed, and areas in need of additional investigation are highlighted.

Child↗
PubMed1982

Occupational therapy and special education: some issues and concerns related to Public Law 94-142.

Because of the evolving nature of the professions involved in providing services to the developmentally disabled as mandated by PL 94-142, the potential of theoretical and programmatic conflict exists. Some of the philosophical differences and similarities between occupational therapy and special education are reviewed. Two conceptual approaches to therapy and education are identified. The first approach is based on the medical model, which emphasized diagnostic evaluation to determine the cause of a disorder and the prescription of remedial activities to alleviate the dysfunction. The second approach is the task analysis model, which emphasized task content and behaviorally based teaching strategies and objectives. It is proposed that, through a mutual understanding and cooperative effort on the part of all professionals, the two models may be combined to provide comprehensive services to the developmentally disabled.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Sensory integration therapy: affect or effect.

The results of studies examining the effectiveness of sensory integration therapy were reviewed, using recently developed quantitative methods that treat the literature review process as a unique type of research. Forty-nine studies were located initially. Eight of these studies met the following criteria: (a) they investigated the effect of sensory integration therapy; (b) they included dependent measures of academic achievement, motor or reflex performance, and/or language function; (c) they included a comparison between at least two groups; and (d) they reported quantitative results of the effect of sensory integration therapy. The 8 studies contained a total of 47 statistical hypothesis tests that evaluated the effectiveness of sensory integration therapy. An analysis of these tests, using quantitative reviewing methods, revealed that subjects participating in sensory integration therapy performed significantly better than members in the control groups who did not receive sensory integration therapy. The application of sensory integration therapy to various client populations is discussed in relation to the existing empirical support revealed in the studies reviewed. The advantages of quantitative reviewing procedures are discussed, and use of the procedures with the developing occupational therapy research literature is recommended.

Developmental Disabilities↗
PubMed1981

An investigation of self-concept and body image in the mentally retarded.

Explored the relationship of self-drawings to scores on a measure of self-concept in a sample of 31 mentally retarded Ss. Five variables hypothesized to be related to self-concept including overall self-drawing score, size of self-drawing, age, sex, and IQ were subjected to forward (stepwise) multiple regression analysis. Data analysis revealed that four of the five variables shared significant variance with self-concept scores. It is suggested that these variables can provide additional information in evaluating the self-concept of the mentally retarded.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Effects of vestibular stimulation on spontaneous use of verbal language in developmentally delayed children.

The relationship between vestibular stimulation and language development in a group of five primary trainable mentally deficient and five developmentally retarded preschoolers was studied. Subjects received vestibular stimulation prior to a free play situation and were monitored for spontaneous recognizable language use. Results indicated an increase in spontaneous verbal language use for both groups immediately after the stimulation periods, and suggest vestibular stimulation as an effective nonverbal intervention method for the facilitation of spontaneous language.

Child↗
PubMed1980

Excessive postrotary nystagmus duration in learning-disabled children.

The Southern California Sensory Integration Test results of 109 learning-disabled children were reviewed and analyzed to investigate the hypothesis that learning-disabled children with excessive postrotary nystagmus durations display greater neuropsychological impairment than learning-disabled children with normal or depressed postrotary nystagmus. The findings supported the hypothesis that learning-disabled children judged to have relatively greater neuropsychological involvement exhibited significantly longer postrotary nystagmus durations. Data analysis revealed that six Southern California Sensory Integration Tests assumed to measure cortical level functions shared significant variance with excessive Southern California Postrotary Nystagmus Test (SCPNT) scores. A similar relationship was not found for normal or depressed SCPNT scores. A connection between cortical level versus brain-stem level central nervous system dysfunction, nystagmus, and learning disorder is discussed.

Child↗
PubMed1980

Cerebral vascular accident: some characteristics of occupational therapy evaluation forms.

To determine areas most commonly evaluated by occupational therapists and to ascertain methods in which evaluative information is gathered, 35 evaluation forms currently employed by occupational therapists to assess dysfunction in patients with cerebral vascular accident were collected. Five general areas including motor function, sensory deficit, hadn function, activities of daily living, and visual perception were found to be most frequently listed on the forms. These areas were divided into sub areas to operationally define the information collected. Analysis revealed that the level of measurement most frequently employed by therapists to record evaluate findings was the descriptive level. There was a tendency to collect data at "higher" or more sophisticated levels of measurement in those areas evaluated most frequently. The findings are discussed in relation to professional competency concerns and the need to develop unique occupational therapy evaluative instruments for areas of practice such as cerebral vascular accident.

Cardiac Rehabilitation↗
PubMed1979

Nystagmus duration changes of learning disabled children during sensory integrative therapy.

Sensory integrative therapy was administered to 43 learning disabled children categorized according to their pretherapeutic duration of postrotary nystagmus. The duration then was recorded after relatively short or long treatments. Children displaying initial subnormal nystagmic functioning responded to therapy with increases in duration while others displayed decreases, and these effects were more apparent after long therapy. These data support the claims that learning disabled children can be meaningfully categorized according to their nystagmic responses and that attention to their interoceptive sensory functioning may be of clinical significance.

Child↗
PubMed1979

Association between nystagmus hyporesponsivity and behavioral problems in learning-disabled children.

This study explored the hypothesis that an association exists between postrotary nystagmus hyporesponsivity and behavioral problems in learning-disabled children. Supporting this conclusion was the finding that the learning-disabled boys rated by teachers as displaying the most socially inappropriate behaviors had significantly lower postrotary nystagmus durations than other learning-disabled boys. In addition, near significant associations were obtained between subnormal nystagmus functioning and socially inappropriate responding for boys and girls combined. Learning-disabled girls were evaluated as responding significantly more appropriately than learning-disabled boys, while having significantly shorter postrotary nystagmus durations; thus, sex of a child may be an important variable in determining relationships between psychological characteristics and hyporesponsive nystagmus. Additional research is needed in this area because of a number of limitations to this study; however, these results present further suggestive evidence that learning-disabled children can be categorized according to characteristics of their postrotary nystagmus.

Child↗
PubMed1979

Nystagmus and ocular fixation difficulties in learning-disabled children.

The visual fixation ability of learning-disabled children was evaluated after sensory integrative therapy had been administered for short or long periods of time. Children with hyporesponsive postrotary nystagmus displayed reduced oculomotor control skills, but the deficit was apparent only in those who had been in therapy for a shorter interval. These results present further support for the hypothesis that the learning disabled can be differentiated according to their nystagmus characteristics. In addition, very tentative evidence suggested that sensory integrative therapy may have been successful in ameliorating the fixation deficiency; however, further research into this possibility is needed. The data also indicate that oculomotor control dysfunction may be a mediating mechanism for at least part of the learning disabilities experienced by some learning-disabled children.

Child↗
PubMed1978

Identifying vestibular procession dysfunction in learning-disabled children.

The purpose of this investigation was to identify neurobehavioral functions of the vestibulo-proprioceptive system that would aid the clinician in evaluating vestibular processing dysfunction in learntibulo-proprioceptive function were subjected to multiple regression analysis. Data analysis revealed that four variables shared significant variance with Southern California Postrotary Nystagmus Test scores. It is suggested that these variables can provide additional information in evaluating vestibular processing dysfunction in learning-disabled children.

Child↗