ISIC2025/2026
Ayres Sensory Integration Fidelity (ASIFM) in High-Security Mental Health Settings
Authors: Kathyn Smith, Katie Crowfoot, Melissa King, Hayley Vaughan, Sarah Cook, Bernike Maaarsingh, Lynsey Stocks, Amanda Adamson and Rosalind Urwin
This matters because people in acute and forensic settings often have the highest trauma load and the most restricted occupational lives, yet therapy is delivered under the tightest safety constraints. This poster shows how ASI can still be delivered ethically and effectively in those conditions, without losing its core intent.
It does three key things:
- Makes adaptations transparent using FRAME and CFIR 2.0, so services can see what has to change in secure care, rather than expecting an ideal clinic model.
- Protects fidelity by preserving ASI principles while adapting delivery (space, equipment, procedures), including refining ASIFM-BC to better reflect real world conditions.
- Highlights active ingredients in adult ASI, especially for people with multiple ACEs: felt safety, agency, co produced regulation, relational response, playfulness, and a strong therapeutic alliance.
Bottom line: it offers a practical, evidence informed pathway for OTs and secure care teams to implement ASI safely, with integrity, in trauma informed systems.
If you are more interested in Mental Health, you can check the following workshops:
Workshop | Ayres’ Sensory Integration for Mental Health and Wellbeing Across the Lifespan
