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Anna Jean Ayres (July 18, 1920 – December 16, 1988) was an American
occupational therapist Occupational therapists (OTs) are health care professionals specializing in occupational therapy and occupational science. OTs and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) use scientific bases and a holistic perspective to promote a person's abilit ...
,
educational psychologist An educational psychologist is a psychologist whose differentiating functions may include diagnostic and psycho-educational Psychological evaluation, assessment, psychological counseling in educational communities (students, teachers, parents, ...
and advocate for individuals with special needs. She became known for her work on
sensory integration Multisensory integration, also known as multimodal integration, is the study of how information from the different sensory modalities (such as sight, sound, touch, smell, self-motion, and taste) may be integrated by the nervous system. A coherent r ...
(SI) theory.


Education

Born on a walnut farm in
Visalia, California Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...
, in 1920, Ayres' parents, Fletcher and Louise (Stamm) Ayres, were both school teachers. Growing up, Ayres claimed to have symptoms similar to the dysfunctions she would later study.The Times Mirror Company; Los Angeles Times. (1989) "Dr. A. Jean Ayres; Led in Treating Neurological Disorder" Ayres received her
B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in
occupational therapy Occupational therapy (OT) is a global healthcare profession. It involves the use of assessment and intervention to develop, recover, or maintain the meaningful activities, or ''occupations'', of individuals, groups, or communities. The field of ...
in 1945, her
M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in occupational therapy in 1954, and her PhD in
educational psychology Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive and behavioral perspectives, allows researchers to understand individual differences i ...
in 1961, all from the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. She began her post-doctoral work in the
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
Brain Research Institute from 1964 to 1966 under Dr. Arthur Parmelee. She was also a faculty member in the occupational therapy and special education departments at the University of Southern California from 1955 to 1984. Ayres wrote two books and more than thirty journal articles. In 1975 she standardized tests originally known as the ''Southern California Sensory Integration Tests'' and later revised the ''Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests'' in 1989. In 1976, Ayres founded a private pediatric practice called the Ayres Clinic in
Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the m ...
, where she conducted
occupational therapy Occupational therapy (OT) is a global healthcare profession. It involves the use of assessment and intervention to develop, recover, or maintain the meaningful activities, or ''occupations'', of individuals, groups, or communities. The field of ...
assessment and intervention on children and adults with a variety of disorders, including
learning disabilities Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty (British English) is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficult ...
and
autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
.


Development of Sensory Integration theory


Sensory Integration Dysfunction

Building on the work of Charles S. Sherrington and others, she began developing the theory and associated intervention techniques of sensory integration in the 1950s by examining the relationship between the brain and behavior. By the 1960s, Dr. Ayres recognized and described "hidden disabilities" or "dysfunction in sensory integrative processes" (Ayres, 1963, 1968), which she later referred to as ''sensory integrative dysfunction''. She originated the theory to "explain the relationship between deficits in interpreting sensation from the body and the environment and difficulties with academic or motor learning." Between 1968 and 1989, Ayres used tests of sensory integrative and practical functions with children with and without learning and sensorimotor difficulties. These were originally published as "Southern California Sensory Integration Tests" (SCSIT; 1975) and later revised as "Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests (SIPT; 1989). She published numerous factor analyses of assessment findings that allowed her to identify patterns of sensory integrative dysfunction, which were later confirmed by other researchers and expanded upon (e.g. in the context of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder).


Sensory Integration

"Sensory integration theory is used to explain why individuals behave in particular ways, plan intervention to ameliorate particular difficulties, and predict how behavior will change as a result of intervention" (p. 5). Dr Ayres defined sensory integration as "the organization of sensations for use. Our senses give us information about the physical conditions of our body and the environment around us... The brain must organize all of our sensations if a person is to move and learn and behave in a productive manner" (p. 5). Ayres published her definition of "sensory integration" in 1972 as ''the neurological process that organizes sensation from one’s own body and from the environment and makes it possible to use the body effectively within the environment'' (p. 11). In 1979, Dr. Ayres published ''Sensory Integration and the Child'', a book to "help parents to recognize sensory integrative problems in their child, understand what is going on, and do something to help their child"


Sensory Integration Therapy

As an intervention approach,
Sensory integration therapy Sensory integration therapy (SIT) was originally developed by occupational therapist A. Jean Ayres in the 1970s to help children with sensory-processing difficulties. It was specifically designed to treat Sensory Processing Disorder (sometimes c ...
is used as "a clinical frame of reference for the assessment and treatment of people who have functional disorders in sensory processing" (p. 325).Parham, D. & Mailloux, Z. (2010). Sensory Integration. In Case-Smith, J. & O’Brien, J. (Eds.), Occupational Therapy For Children (6th ed.). (pp 325-372). Maryland Heights, Missouri: Mosby Elsevier. Ayres considered sensory integration intervention "a specialty of occupational therapy" (Ayres 1979, p. 155). Thus, the assessment and intervention from a sensory integration perspective are most commonly used by occupational therapy practitioners in their treatment of children with difficulties in occupational performance and participation related to sensory integrative or sensory processing dysfunction. She developed the intervention approach through empirical research. However, the effectiveness of this therapy have come into serious question more recently. Many recent studies have not supported the effectiveness of the therapy, and studies that do support the effectiveness of the therapy have been found to have "serious methodological flaws." Many professionals hold that Dr. Ayres created one of the first structures for evidence-based practice in occupational therapy through her theory development (Ayres, 1972), model development (Ayres, 1979–2005), assessment development (Ayres, 1989) and intervention strategies (Ayres, 1972). Sensory integration theory and practice has been met with resistance within the occupational therapy profession as well as other disciplines. A recent review concluded that SIT is "ineffective and that its theoretical underpinnings and assessment practices are unvalidated." Moreover, the authors warned that SIT techniques exist "outside the bounds of established evidence-based practice" and that SIT is "quite possible a misuse of limited resources." These findings corroborate the findings of other studies and reviews on the effectiveness of Sensory Integration Therapy.


Awards and recognition

Ayres received numerous honors from the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)--including the
Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introd ...
, the Award of Merit, and a charter membership in the AOTA Academy of Research—and was named in the Roster of Fellows. She has been described by her students and colleagues as "a pioneer in affective neuroscience" (Schneider, 2005), a "developmental theorist" (Knox, 2005), "one of the original perceptual motor theorists" (Smith Roley, 2005), "a pioneer in our understanding of developmental dyspraxia" (Cermak, 2005), and "an astute observer of human behavior and neurological development" (Bauman, 2005). She was dedicated to the promotion of science-driven intervention strategies leading a better quality of life for people with disabilities and their families. "Her work made major inroads into the understanding of clinical neuroscience, the importance of experience in brain development, the role of tactile defensiveness and sensory modulation disorders as contributors to behavioral disorders, and the impact of sensory registration in autism, among others."


Death

Ayres died from complications of breast cancer on December 16, 1988.


Bibliography

* (posthumous collection of correspondence) * * * *Ayres A. J. (1954). Ontogenetic principles in the development of arm and hand functions. Am. J. Occup. Ther. 8, 95–99, 121. *Ayres A. J. (1958). The visual-motor function. Am. J. Occup. Ther. 12, 130–138, 155. *Ayres A. J. (1961). Development of the body scheme in children. Am. J. Occup. Ther. 15, 99–102, 128. *Ayres A. J. (1963). The development of perceptual-motor abilities: a theoretical basis for treatment of dysfunction. Am. J. Occup. Ther. 27, 221–225. *Ayres A. J. (1965). Patterns of perceptual-motor dysfunction in children: a factor analytic study. Percept. Mot. Skills 20, 335–368. *Ayres A. J. (1966). Interrelation of perception, function, and treatment. J. Am. Phys. Ther. Assoc. 46, 741–744. *Ayres A. J. (1966). Interrelations among perceptual-motor abilities in a group of normal children. Am. J. Occup. Ther. 20, 288–292. *Ayres, A. J. (1968). Sensory integrative processes and neuropsychological learning disability. Learning Disorders, 3, 41–58. *Ayres, A. J. (1971). Characteristics of types of sensory integrative dysfunction. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 25, 329–334. *Ayres A. J. (1972). Overview. In Sensory Integration and Learning Disorders, Ayres A. J., editor. , ed. (Los Angeles, CA, Western Psychological Services; ), pp. 1–12. *Ayres A. J. (1972). Sensory Integration and Learning Disorders. Los Angeles, CA, Western Psychological Services. *Ayres A. J. (1972). Some general principles of brain function. In Sensory Integration and Learning Disorders, Ayres A. J., editor. , ed. (Los Angeles, CA, Western Psychological Services; ), pp. 13–24 *Ayres, A. J. (1972). Types of sensory integrative dysfunction among disabled learners. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 26, 13–18. *Ayres, A. J. (1974). The development of sensory integrative theory and practice: A collection of the works of A. Jean Ayres. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt. *Ayres A. J. (1975). Sensorimotor foundations of academic ability. In Perceptual and Learning Disabilities in Children, Cruickshank W. M., Hallahan D. P., editors. , eds (Syracuse, NY, Syracuse University Press; ), pp. 301–358. *Ayres, A. J., & Tickle, L. S. (1980). Hyper-responsivity to touch and vestibular stimuli as a predictor of positive response to sensory integration procedures by autistic children. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 34, 375–381. *Ayres, A. J. (1989). Sensory integration and praxis tests. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services. *Ayres, A. J. (2004). Sensory integration and praxis tests manual: Updated edition. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.


See also

*
Occupational therapy Occupational therapy (OT) is a global healthcare profession. It involves the use of assessment and intervention to develop, recover, or maintain the meaningful activities, or ''occupations'', of individuals, groups, or communities. The field of ...
*
Sensory processing disorder Sensory processing disorder (SPD, formerly known as sensory integration dysfunction) is a condition in which multisensory input is not adequately processed in order to provide appropriate responses to the demands of the environment. Sensory proces ...
*
Sensory integration Multisensory integration, also known as multimodal integration, is the study of how information from the different sensory modalities (such as sight, sound, touch, smell, self-motion, and taste) may be integrated by the nervous system. A coherent r ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayres, Anna Jean Occupational therapists American women psychologists 20th-century American psychologists USC Rossier School of Education alumni 1920 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American women 20th-century American people