The Effect of Sensory Processing Intervention on Social-Emotional Skills and Social Competence of Students with Specific Learning Disorder

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of sensory processing intervention on the social-emotional skills and social competence of students with specific learning disorder. This study was a randomized controlled trial in which 30 students with specific learning disorder from Tehran in the academic year 2024-2025 were randomly assigned to two groups: experimental (15 students) and control (15 students). The experimental group received a sensory processing intervention over eight 90-minute sessions, while the control group received no intervention. Data collection tools included the Social-Emotional Skills Scale by Gresham and Elliott (2010) and the Perceived Social Competence Scale by Anderson et al. (1999), both of which have been validated in numerous studies, including those conducted in Iran. Data analysis was performed using repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc tests in SPSS-27. The results indicated that the sensory processing intervention significantly improved the social-emotional skills and social competence of students in the experimental group compared to the control group. The mean scores of social-emotional skills and social competence increased significantly after the intervention in the experimental group and remained stable in the five-month follow-up, while no significant changes were observed in the control group. Sensory processing intervention can be considered an effective method for improving social-emotional skills and social competence in students with specific learning disorder and can be integrated into rehabilitation and educational programs for these students.