ICE-ASI
More About the International Council for Education in Ayres' Sensory Integration®
ASI Wise is an ICE-ASI Member
The roots of the International Council for Education in Ayres’ Sensory Integration® (ICE-ASI) lie in the Sensory Integration Global Network (SIGN), formed in the early 2000’s as the first international collaboration of ASI educators and organisations. SIGN was created from a shared recognition that Ayres Sensory Integration (ASI) was being taught in diverse ways across the world, and that without dialogue and cooperation, the fidelity of Dr A. Jean Ayres’ work risked being diluted or misunderstood.
SIGN provided a platform for educators to meet, share resources, compare approaches, and identify the essential features of training that should be protected across contexts. It fostered international partnership and laid the groundwork for ICE-ASI.
As demand for ASI education expanded globally, the need for stronger governance and accountability became clear. This led to the formal establishment of ICE-ASI, with defined membership, governance, and accountability structures. Unlike SIGN, which was an informal network, ICE-ASI was designed to provide a sustainable and transparent framework to protect fidelity while respecting diversity in programme design.
Since then, ICE-ASI has become the recognised body responsible for:
- Defining minimum global standards for ASI education.
- Supporting the development of programmes in countries where ASI education is still emerging.
- Encouraging international collaboration, peer support, and resource-sharing.
- Providing a framework for mutual recognition of training, enabling therapists to practise with confidence internationally.
A Global Mission
ICE-ASI was established to strengthen transparency, consistency, and collaboration in ASI education. Its mission is to protect fidelity to Ayres’ original theory and practice and to ensure that educational programmes reflect current research and best practice.
Each country has its own professional frameworks, regulations, and systems of care. For this reason, no single pathway can serve every context. ICE-ASI therefore sets minimum global standards that act as the floor — the essential foundation upon which fidelity and integrity can be guaranteed. Above this floor, countries and organisations are free to develop their own ceilings, shaping programmes that meet national requirements and reflect local professional and cultural needs. This model supports both global consistency and local adaptability.
Avoiding Unhelpful Comparisons
It can be tempting to create comparison tables between countries, placing programmes side by side to see who offers “more” or “less.” However, such comparisons often miss the point.
The minimum standards set by ICE-ASI define the floor – what must be included to ensure fidelity to Ayres Sensory Integration. They are not intended to reflect the ceiling – the full richness of what any particular programme may contain. Directly comparing the baseline standards with the content of a complete programme oversimplifies complex differences, risks undermining trust, and obscures the true purpose of ICE-ASI: to safeguard fidelity while fostering diversity, integrity, and adaptability across international contexts.
ICE-ASI therefore discourages such comparisons. Each programme reflects the professional structures, cultural contexts, and healthcare or education systems of its country. By focusing on fidelity and adaptability, ICE-ASI ensures that therapists, wherever they train, receive education that is authentic, robust, and relevant to their community.
What ICE-ASI Stands For
- Global Network: Linking organisations and educators worldwide, creating opportunities for dialogue, collaboration, and mutual recognition of training.
- Fidelity Focused: Protecting authenticity through alignment with the ASI Fidelity Measure, ensuring all training maintains the integrity of practice.
- Community of Practice: Building international peer support, knowledge-sharing, and collaboration across borders.
- Development and Growth: Supporting countries where ASI education is still emerging, with guidance from experienced members to grow programmes that are rigorous and locally relevant.
Looking Forward
ICE-ASI continues to strengthen its role as the international council for ASI education. Its focus is not on comparison or competition, but on unity, guidance, and fidelity.
By upholding the model of floors and ceilings – a shared foundation for all, with the freedom for each country to design programmes that reach as high as their context allows – ICE-ASI ensures that therapists worldwide receive education that is authentic to Ayres’ original work and responsive to the unique needs of their communities.
Why ASI Wise was established to uphold ICE-ASI values and connection for therapists in the UK & Ireland
In the United Kingdom, ASI Wise was established to uphold ICE-ASI’s international standards and to ensure that occupational therapists and others interested in sensory integration could access education benchmarked against these global requirements. ASI Wise was created to continue the legacy vested in us as our Directors, Kath, Ros and Mandy; and to continue to provide high-quality, fidelity-assured, locally relevant MSc level training. This would remain in line a long history of carefully developed and agreed consensus about the essential elements of high-quality Ayres’ sensory education.
In addition, ASI Wise offers the MSc route for those wishing to pursue academic accreditation alongside clinical training. This pathway allows learners to gain university-recognised qualifications while completing a programme accredited against ICE-ASI standards. The combination ensures therapists are trained in fidelity to Ayres’ Sensory Integration and hold academic credentials that support career development, research, and advanced professional practice in line with national drivers, including the NHS’ Advancing Practice agenda.
Through this dual model, ASI Wise enables UK therapists to benefit from ICE-ASI’s international benchmarking while also accessing the rigour of higher education, giving them confidence that their learning is respected, transferable, and globally recognised.
International Council for Education in Ayres' Sensory Integration® (ICE-ASI)
ACCREDITED ASI TRAINING PROGRAMS