The Effectiveness of a Multisensory Snoezelen Room Rehabilitation Program on the Modulation of Proximal Senses and Challenging Behaviors in Low-Functioning Autistic Children

Document Type : Original Article

Researchers

1 M.A. Student in Psychology and Education of Exceptional Children, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Psychology & Education of Exceptional Children, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Psychology and Education of Exceptional Children, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran.

Ministerial Ethics Committee
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with heterogeneity in the processing and modulation of sensory stimuli,tion as well as the occurrence of challenging behaviors. The present study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a multisensory Snoezelen room rehabilitation program on the modulation of proximal senses and the reduction of challenging behaviors in low-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder. The present study will be applied in terms of its purpose and quasi-experimental in terms of its design, employing a pretest–posttest and one-month follow-up design with a control group. The study population will consist of low-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder, from whom 30 eligible participants will be selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to two groups, an experimental group and a control group, with 15 participants in each group. Both groups will be assessed at the pretest stage using the Sensory Profile 2 and the Revised Repetitive Behavior Scale. Subsequently, the experimental group will receive a multisensory Snoezelen room rehabilitation program consisting of 20 sessions, 45 minutes per session, four sessions per week, whereas the control group will continue their usual educational and rehabilitation programs. Following the completion of the intervention, both groups will be reassessed at the posttest and one-month follow-up stages. The data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics and analysis of covariance with repeated measures, following the assessment of statistical assumptions. It is expected that implementation of the multisensory Snoezelen room rehabilitation program will result in improved modulation of proximal senses and reduced challenging behaviors in low-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder.