Allison Block attended the Sensory Integration Think Tank Summit in Richmond, VA last week (UPDATE depending on post timing). Here, lead researchers in occupational therapy sensory integration research met to discuss the state of the field and determine key areas for future research. Allison presented a poster on brain stem contributions to vestibular processing in autistic and non-autistic kids. The vestibular sense monitors where one’s head is in space and is essential for staying upright as one moves throughout the world, whether that be sitting at a desk, staying on a swing, or running on a playground. She found evidence that the key neural contributors to this sense may differ between autistic and non-autistic kids, but her work is still in progress!
