The effects of sensory stories on the targeted behaviors of tooth brushing for a school-aged child with sensory processing challenges

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine if reading the Tooth Brushing Sensory Story at least twice a day for 2 weeks before a child brushes his/her teeth would improve the child's ability to participate in the event.;METHOD: This study entails a quasi-experimental design involving a case study that analyzed both qualitative and quantitative data. A baseline of the child's performance during the tooth brushing task was recorded by the caregiver on a pre-study survey created by the researchers. The Tooth Brushing Sensory Story was read to the child twice a day for a two week time period prior to beginning the tooth brushing activity. The child's behaviors and performance during the activity were recorded during this time and a post-study survey was completed by the caregiver once the data collection period was terminated. The results were then analyzed to determine whether change had occurred as a result of reading the Sensory Story.;RESULTS: The results indicated that the participant's performance and behavior did not improve with the use of the Tooth Brushing Sensory Story during and after the tooth brushing task, as was reported by the children's caregivers.;CONCLUSION: The Tooth Brushing Sensory Story was shown to be unsuccessful for improving performance in tooth brushing for this single research participant. Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of the Tooth Brushing Sensory Story on a child with SPD and their performance in tooth brushing.