| Title |
The Influence of Multi-sensory Environments (Snoezelen) on Behaviors and Physiological Responses for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders |
| DOI |
http://doi.org/10.14774/JKIID.2020.29.5.003 |
| Keywords |
MSE(Snoezelen); ASD; Sensory characteristic; Target behavior; Heart rate; Single-subject experimental design |
| Abstract |
The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in South Korea and around the world is increasing every year, but there is no cure for ASD. The multi-sensory environment (MSE), a non-pharmaceutical behavioral treatment, is one promising way. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the MSE on the target behaviors and heart rates of children with ASD. The participants of this study were two children with ASD with hypo-visual and hypo-auditory sensitivities. A single-subject experimental design with alternating treatment design was used for the study. Based on the sensory characteristics of the participants, the MSE interventions were manipulated by a visually stimulating MSE, an auditorily stimulating MSE, and an integration of visually and auditorily stimulating MSE. The participating children showed the decreases in target behaviors in all types of MSE interventions, indicating that sensory experiences in MSE positively affected the negative daily behaviors of children with ASD. Regarding the physiological response, there was a statistical significance in the heart rates of the participants according to each MSE intervention type. However, the relationship between the heart rate and the target behavioral change was indeterminable, and the trends in heart rate could not be concluded with the same effect as the decrease in the target behavior. The present study suggests that sensory environment design plays an integral role in MSE therapy, since the design can support customized environments according to the individual sensory needs of users. |