AOTA Sensory Processing 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which term describes the nervous system's ability to decrease response to repeated, non-threatening sensory stimuli over time?
- Sensitization
- Habituation (Correct answer)
- Modulation
- Orienting response
Correct answer: Habituation
Habituation is the neurological process by which the nervous system reduces response magnitude to repeated, familiar, non-threatening stimuli.
Question 2: In the context of ASI intervention, the acronym STEP-SI stands for a fidelity measure that assesses which of the following?
- Standardized Test of Environmental Processing — Sensory Integration
- Structural observational tool evaluating the structure of sensory integration therapy sessions (Correct answer)
- Sensory Threshold Evaluation Protocol for Sensory Integration
- Systematic Training and Education Protocol for Sensory Integration
Correct answer: Structural observational tool evaluating the structure of sensory integration therapy sessions
STEP-SI (Structural Evaluation of the Process of Sensory Integration Intervention) is a fidelity tool that evaluates whether SI therapy sessions adhere to defined structural elements.
Question 3: A 7-year-old child falls frequently, has poor balance on one foot, and struggles with ball sports. An OT suspects vestibular processing difficulties. Which test would most directly assess this?
- Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT-2)
- Clinical Observations of Neuromotor Performance (CONPs) (Correct answer)
- Peabody Developmental Motor Scales (PDMS-2)
- Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-2)
Correct answer: Clinical Observations of Neuromotor Performance (CONPs)
Clinical Observations of Neuromotor Performance (CONPs) include postural, ocular, and reflex items specifically linked to vestibular-proprioceptive processing.
Question 4: Which of the following BEST describes 'somatodyspraxia' in Ayres Sensory Integration theory?
- Difficulty with tactile discrimination leading to poor praxis (Correct answer)
- Hypersensitivity to deep pressure input affecting sleep
- Over-responsivity to vestibular input causing gravitational insecurity
- Poor modulation of proprioceptive input causing sensory seeking
Correct answer: Difficulty with tactile discrimination leading to poor praxis
Somatodyspraxia is a subtype of dyspraxia linked to poor tactile and proprioceptive discrimination that impairs the ability to plan novel motor actions.
Question 5: Which principle of ASI intervention requires that activities be structured to present challenges that are neither too easy nor too difficult for the child?
- Intrinsic motivation
- Therapeutic alliance
- Just-right challenge (Correct answer)
- Child-directed activity
Correct answer: Just-right challenge
The 'just-right challenge' principle ensures activities are matched to the child's current capacity so adaptive responses and neural organization can occur.
Question 6: A school-age child avoids playground equipment, becomes anxious when feet leave the ground, and resists being tilted. This pattern is most consistent with:
- Postural ocular disorder
- Gravitational insecurity (Correct answer)
- Somatosensory defensiveness
- Bilateral integration and sequencing disorder
Correct answer: Gravitational insecurity
Gravitational insecurity involves an exaggerated, fearful response to movement or changes in head position relative to gravity, driven by vestibular hypersensitivity.
Question 7: Which interoceptive signal is MOST critical for a child to recognize when they need to use the bathroom?
- Proprioceptive feedback from pelvic floor muscles
- Vestibular input from positional change
- Visceral sensations of bladder fullness detected interoceptively (Correct answer)
- Tactile pressure from clothing waistband
Correct answer: Visceral sensations of bladder fullness detected interoceptively
Interoception provides awareness of internal body states such as bladder fullness, which is essential for recognizing the need to use the bathroom.
AOTA Sensory Processing 3
Which term describes the nervous system's ability to decrease response to repeated, non-threatening sensory stimuli over time?