Table 1 Comparison of essential features of SI and enriched environment models
Essential features | Enriched environments | SI intervention |
|---|---|---|
Sensory Experiences | Large cage to explore, equipment to climb, balance, smell, touch, and push. | Large therapy space with points of suspension for swings. Ramps, tunnels, balls, cushions, climbing and jumping devises. |
Structural Features | Adequate space and multi-sensory equipment must be present and available during “treatment” condition | Adequate space and multi-sensory equipment is necessary. Also, therapist must be present and have adequate training/qualifications. |
Novelty | Experimenter changes the material presented in cage on scheduled basis. | Variety of materials available. Therapist’s role to facilitate more challenging or imaginative play activities and change materials as deemed appropriate on a child by child and session by session basis. |
Challenge | Complexity of environment provides opportunities for more complex motor patterns and integrative experiences. | The environment itself should afford sensory-motor challenges, but it is the role of the therapist to facilitate the “just-right challenge”. |
Active Engagement | To benefit from the enriched environment, animals must actively engage with the materials in the environment. | Child collaborates with therapists on activity choice and is actively engaged in planning and executing sensory and motor activities. |
Play/Enjoyment | Sensory and motor experiences are generally enjoyable and encourage engagement (sensory stimuli presented is not noxious or aversive) | Therapist creates a context of play- facilitates child’s own social, motor, imaginative or object play. |
Social | Sometimes multiple animals are introduced to the enriched environment simultaneously to facilitate social interaction. | Primary social relationship is between therapist and child. Social interaction between children may occur but this is not identified as a core element of SI treatment. |
Safety | When social interactions occur, generally animals are of the same size, and “bully” animals are not introduced into the cage. | Therapist ensures physical safety through placement of equipment and maintaining proximity to child. Emotional safety in the form of sustaining optimal levels of arousal. |