Effects of sensorimotor-based occupational therapy approach on self-regulation, cognitive skills and school readiness in preschool children: A pilot randomized controlled trial

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of sensorimotor-based occupational therapy approach on self-regulation, cognitive skills and school readiness in preschool children. The study involved 37 preschool children aged 5-6 years, randomly divided into 19 study and 18 control groups. The Preschool Self-Regulation Scale was used for self-regulation skills, the Metropolitan Readiness Test was used for school readiness, the Childhood Executive Function Inventory was used for executive functions, the Kansas Reflection-Impulsivity Scale for Preschoolers Form A was used for cognitive tempo, the Sensory Profile was used for sensory processing skills, and the Bruininks Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency- 2- Brief Form was used for motor skills. After the assessments were applied to both groups, the children in the control group continued preschool education, while the children in the study group received an occupational therapy-based sensory-motor training program for one hour a day, two days a week for 10 weeks in addition to preschool education. After 10 weeks, the evaluations of the study and control groups were repeated. At the end of the study, statistically significant results were obtained with sensorimotor-based occupational programme in preschool children in two self-regulation domains including attention/impulse control and positive emotion, general school readiness scores, inhibition domain in executive function skills, number of errors in cognitive tempo results, motor skills including fine motor integration, fine motor accuracy and endurance, and sensory processing skills (p<0.05). It was concluded that sensorimotor-based occupational therapy approach improved self-regulation, school readiness, cognitive and sensory-motor skills in preschool children. In this context, it is important to include occupational therapy-based practices involving the cooperation of teachers and occupational therapists in preschool children.