On Pygmalion and sensory integration research

Occupational therapists have been attempting to improve research on sensory integration by adopting more strict fidelity standards and by using Goal Attainment Scaling as an outcome measure.  Three years ago I blogged about an SI effectiveness study and expressed some concerns on the research design - you can read about that at http://abctherapeutics.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-study-on-si-effectiveness-but.html.A new study has been published by Schaaf et al (2013) and can be accessed online in full text at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10803-013-1983-8/fulltext.html  However, one major difference is that in the new study the researchers used an intervention and a 'usual care' group.Use of control groups in this manner can help to correct for potential Hawthorne effects - but only if the study is designed properly.  In the previous study there was an OT/SI group and a fine motor training group.  The fine motor group in the first study was probably not exactly a 'sham intervention' but at least offered a parallel point of comparison because it controlled for some Hawthorne effects.  Both groups made progress but the OT/SI group made more progress.  It was difficult to know if the progress was due to the intervention or the attention (since both groups made progress) or expectancy bias because there was inadequate blinding with measurements.In the new study the researchers added a 'usual care' research design which actually is quite diff...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - Category: Occupational Therapists Tags: autism evidence-based practice sensory integration Source Type: blogs