Lauren Foster

• University of Kansas

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to highlight the essential role of therapeutic recreation on an interdisciplinary team providing swimming and water-safety lessons to individuals with autism. The interdisciplinary team includes recreational therapy, occupational therapy, and community recreation professionals. The program, Sensory Enhanced A...

Date Presented 04/20/2023 This 14-week repeated-measures study showed that sensory garments may improve participation of autistic children, but not parent competence or stress. OT sensory assessment and consultation may help caregivers considering sensory garments. Primary Author and Speaker: Lisa Mische Lawson Additional Authors and Speakers: Laur...

Objective: Autistic children experience sensory challenges that interfere with participation and increase parent stress. Sensory-based interventions are used to address children's behaviors affected by sensory processing difficulties, but research is limited regarding use of sensory garments to support participation of autistic children. This stud...

Objective: The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the use of sensory garments for improving sleep in children with autism spectrum disorder. Method: Using a single-subject ABAB reversal design, the researchers evaluated the effectiveness of a sensory garment on sleep duration, sleep latency, and parental stress related to a...

Obesity is a public health concern for the population in general and for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) specifically. The purpose of this study was to understand relationships between sensory patterns, obesity, and physical activity engagement of children with ASD (N = 77) sampled from a specialized community-based swimming program. T...

Background: Sensory features, which cluster into sensory processing patterns, differ among diagnostic groups (e.g., Baranek et al., 2006; Dunn & Bennett, 2002). There is limited evidence, however, related to the developmental correlates of sensory processing patterns across diagnostic groups, particularly related to autism spectrum disorders (ASD)...

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who participated in 10 one-hour coaching sessions. Coaching occurred between an occupational therapist and mother and consisted of information sharing, action, and reflection. Researchers asked 10 mothers six open-ended qu...

OBJECTIVE. We tested an occupational therapy contextual intervention for improving participation in children with autism spectrum disorders and for developing parental competence. METHOD. Using a repeated-measures pretest–posttest design, we evaluated the effectiveness of a contextually relevant reflective guidance occupational therapy intervention...