Research · practice · history
Research and Practice Beyond Childhood
A connected account of Ayres’ Sensory Integration® beyond childhood, bringing together research, audit, conference work, co-production and a rich practice history.
This page explains how different forms of evidence contribute to adult and lifespan practice. It also shows how Sensory Ladders®, Sensory Spiders™, Sensory Grids™ and the PEAR TREE™ Lens translate complex information into shared, participation-focused reasoning.
For a searchable collection of individual resources, continue to the ASI Beyond Childhood Library.
How we hold evidence
Research, audit, practice knowledge and lived experience answer different questions
Practice beyond childhood has grown through formal research, clinical audit, service development, conference presentation, co-produced tools and the knowledge of people who use services. Good reasoning names the type of evidence and does not treat every source as equivalent.
Peer-reviewed studies
Ask focused questions using explicit methods. Read population, design, measures and limitations before applying findings elsewhere.
Pilots and posters
Make developing work visible, invite scrutiny and support professional discussion, but may precede full publication.
Audit and implementation
Show what happened in real services, under local conditions, and what may need further evaluation.
Lived and relational knowledge
Ensures research questions, interpretation and support remain connected with meaning, agency and participation.
Rich history and practice
A connected history beyond childhood
This concise timeline points into the searchable library, conference archive and original sources.
The lifespan question
Ayres’ own discussion of sensory integration beyond childhood remains an important historical starting point.
Adult neurology, learning disability and mental health
Practice development extended sensory integration thinking into adult services and everyday occupations.
Sensory Levels, Ladders and Be SMART
Early person-centred tools supported shared language, self-understanding and adult mental health practice.
Service evaluation and education
Adult mental health data, national teaching and university-accredited education made practice beyond childhood more visible.
Publication and personalisation
Peer-reviewed adult mental health work and presentation on personalising sensory integration approaches strengthened the public evidence trail.
Online learning and community
Webinars, Sensory Ladders® and peer connection supported translation into practice during and after COVID.
Rio and Sydney
Adult mental health audit, community learning and developing care pathways were shared internationally.
Porto
Pilot, audit, dataset, fidelity, co-production and practice translation connected measurement with lived experience and participation.
Practice tools as knowledge translation
Turning theory and assessment into shared language
The tools have developed through practice and co-production. They make observations, uncertainty, priorities and change more discussable without replacing formal assessment or professional reasoning.
PEAR TREE™ Lens
Holds person, context, activity and relationship together, then brings embodied evaluation and ethics into planning.
Explore PEAR TREE™ with adults →Sensory Ladders®
Originating in adult practice, Ladders connect body state, perception, praxis, regulation and participation through recognisable language.
Explore the history of Sensory Ladders® →Sensory Spiders™
Help people and teams see possible cross-system patterns while keeping interpretation provisional and collaborative.
Explore Sensory Spiders™ →Sensory Grids™
Organise everyday facts, working hypotheses, support trials and outcomes so information can guide the next question.
Explore Sensory Grids™ →Current themes
Where research and practice beyond childhood are developing
Adult mental health
Sensory integration, trauma, psychosis, personality disorder, regulation, ward environments and occupational participation.
Learning disabilities
Sensory processing, rights, communication, health inequalities, restrictive practice and meaningful participation.
Neuro rehabilitation
Postural control, praxis, interoception, fatigue, neurological change, movement and recovery.
Older adults
Sensory change, falls, dementia, executive function, ageing, identity and daily activity performance.
Perinatal and parenting
Pregnancy, birth, infant care, early relationship, sleep, feeding and the sensory occupations of parenting.
Forensic and high-security services
Fidelity, safety-led adaptation, agency, therapeutic alliance and participation in restrictive environments.
Featured conference resources
Follow the work from Rio, Sydney and Porto
Adult Mental Health Clinical Audit
Historical and contemporary practice connected through ASI, data-driven decisions, recovery and participation.
Open the Rio poster → Sydney 2024Adult Mental Health Care Pathway
Co-production, proportionate assessment and data-informed practice shared through an international presentation.
Explore the Sydney resource → Porto 2025–26Ten Connected Posters
Measurement, fidelity, implementation, translation, dataset analysis and co-production across services.
Explore the Porto collection → Pilot studyAdult PRN Metrics
Age-banded percentiles, symmetry and a vestibular self-reflection checklist.
Open the PRN poster → Local auditSensory Needs and Hospital Discharge
Environmental mismatch, delayed discharge and access to specialist occupational therapy.
Open the audit poster → Practice reflectionFrom Clinical Models to a Lens We Can Hold Together
PEAR TREE™, adult co-production and fidelity in complex settings brought into one reflective discussion.
Read the reflection →What still needs to be learned
Important research questions remain open
Adult norms and measurement
How should age, health, gender, context and direction-specific performance inform interpretation beyond childhood?
Mechanisms and outcomes
Which sensory motor changes contribute to occupational outcomes, for whom, under which conditions and over what timescale?
Fidelity in complex settings
How can active ingredients remain visible when safety, environment or service context require adaptation?
Co-production and implementation
How can lived experience shape research questions, measures, interpretation and service design from the beginning?
Frequently asked questions