A: Sensory Integration was developed by Dr. A.Jean Ayres, an Occupational Therapist in the US, in the late '60s and has now spread world wide as a treatment for many aspects of sensory and motor functioning.

The courses as run by the SI Network follow those criteria set up by initially the Sensory Integration International in California and these courses are now supported by the University of Southern California and Western Psychological also in California.

All the organisation mentioned above and the SI Network UK and Ireland Ltd, specify that in order to undertake the courses you must have graduate training in Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy or Speech and Language Therapy. These three courses are deemed to include appropriate information to enable the participant/student to apply the Theory and Principles of SI within their practice.

At the moment, we offer the Introductory Day to others interested in learning more about SI and from time to time there may be other courses by invited speakers which are open to other professionals and others interested in learning more about SI.

It is recommended by the above bodies and the SI Network that Sensory Integration as a therapeutic frame of reference or treatment medium/approach, is undertaken by the professions named above. All therapy must be supervised by a trained therapist, who will monitor and adapt the treatment programme as required. This does not mean that others cannot participate in using SI principles, under the guidance of a trained therapist. The aim of our Introductory Days is to inform others of the basic principles in order that they will have a greater understanding of the aims of treatment as laid out by the relevantly trained therapist.

The SI Network offers accredited courses to the three professions and aims to maintain a high standard of understanding and therapeutic ability to the client population. These courses are accredited through Cardiff University at M level. For information on the points awarded please see the details pertaining to each course.

If successfully completed, a Certificate of Accreditation is awarded. This provides evidence of clinical application and consolidation of knowledge gained through the course. The SI Network strongly recommends completion of accreditation for effective learning.

If you pursue accreditation of courses 1, 2 and 4 and are successful in all these courses, you will gain Advanced SI practitioner status awarded by the SI Network. For any further queries please contact the module coordinator, by email to info@sensoryintegration.org.uk or by post to the postal address.

Q.I have been thinking about doing some postgraduate training in Autism. How can I get some credits towards a postgrad qualification?

A.In terms of your learning about sensory integration, the best pathway is to complete the courses run through SI Network which are accredited with Cardiff Univeristy with 10, 15, 20 and 20 Master's level credits respectively for the four courses. Whilst these courses are not geared specifically to autism, the application can be specific to autism, and the case study in the form of an academic essay that you complete after the course will assist you in reading around the subject matter in more detail. Much of the content that is covered in the courses is around sensory modulation which is one do the key issues with autism. These M level credits may then be taken to other universities towards a Master's degree if that is what you want to do.

A: The applicant needs to show proof of the content of the course they attended, with an attendance certificate or better still a certificate of passing if they had to submit an assignment. If we then think that the course covers the same ground as ours, they may attend the Module 2 course, but they may not submit the assignment until they have submitted the assignment for the Module 1 Course (which will cost them another £175 to register with Cardiff University). It therefore depends on whether they want to follow the accredited route, which is the one we would strongly recommend especially in light of new CPD requirements.

Q: Do you know how long these credits can be used for and how many modules/credits you need in total on your masters degree?

A: At Cardiff University the credits are valid for 5 years.

Q: What are the requirements to undertake an SI modular course?

A: You need to have qualified as an OT, PT or SLT and be registered with the Health Professions Council or your country’s equivalent regulatory body. Attendance at module I is pre-requisite to taking further SI modules.

Q: What do I gain on completion of a module?

A: Modules 1 to 4 will give you M Level Credits (Masters level) through Cardiff University. [See course descriptions for weighting.] You will receive a certificate on successful completion of each module. You will also have evidence for continuing professional development of a critical understanding and application of sensory integration therapy.

Q: Can I use these credits towards a Masters degree?

A: Many students have embarked on Masters degrees at various universities and have had the credits gained from their SI modules accepted towards their degree through systems of accreditation of prior learning (APL).

Q: What happens if I fail?

A: Do not worry; you will get feedback with your mark and some guidance about how to pass. You can then resubmit one further occasion.

Q: What happens if I am ill and cannot submit my assignment for the deadline?

A: You contact the academic organiser at Cardiff University as soon as possible and inform her about your circumstances. You will then be sent a form to complete and if you require longer than a week you will be asked to provide a doctors note and you will be entitled to defer your submission. A re-negotiated submission date will be determined.

Q: I have not done any academic study for some years, how should I approach my first assignment?

A: Read the “required reading” for the module so that you have a good grasp of the subject. Your assignment should include an introduction, your main text should expand on these points, supported by evidence from the literature that you have read and finally draw your ideas together in a conclusion. There is a handbook with each module that explains how to set out and reference your assignment.

Q: What happens if I do not submit an assignment?

A: If you do not submit you will automatically be given a fail.

Q: What benefits have clinicians found after completing the modules?

A: Students have commented that, amongst other things, they have learned to critically appraise treatment and as a result have improved their ability to develop appropriate treatment plans.

A: If you complete the Master’s level assignments attached to the SI modules, then you will receive M level credits through Cardiff University. It is up the universities in Australia whether they have an APL (Accreditation of Previous Learning) system. In the UK and Ireland, the universities ascribe to this system so it is possible to take your credits to another university (up to a maximum that each university set) and then complete the rest of the Master’s at that university. You will need to contact the universities directly in Australia to see whether they have this system or not.

If however, you wish to continue your SI training (which is not necessarily linked to a university, or to a Master’s degree), then you will need to contact the SI Network equivalent in Australia to see whether you could start your training here, and finish it there.