Anna Jean Ayres
Encyclopedia
Occupational therapist
An occupational therapist is trained in the practice of occupational therapy. The role of an occupational therapist is to work with a client to help them achieve a fulfilled and satisfied state in life through the use of "purposeful activity or interventions designed to achieve functional...
and developmental psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
known for her work in the area of sensory integration dysfunction
Sensory Integration Dysfunction
Sensory integration dysfunction is a neurological disorder characterized by a neurological sensory integration deficit. The more current diagnostic nosology uses the term sensory processing disorder to describe this condition....
, a term she coined in the 1960s to describe a theory used in occupational therapy
Occupational therapy
Occupational therapy is a discipline that aims to promote health by enabling people to perform meaningful and purposeful activities. Occupational therapists work with individuals who suffer from a mentally, physically, developmentally, and/or emotionally disabling condition by utilizing treatments...
. She is the author of several books on the subject, including Sensory Integration and the Child. Dr. Ayres also created several test batteries used to help identify issues related to the dysfunction. According to Group Dynamics in Occupational Therapy (2005), Ayres' theory and conclusions remain controversial. A 2002 article in The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice reported that controlled studies examining the effect of Sensory Integration treatment "have found little support for the efficacy of SIT for treating children with various developmental disabilities". Controversial Therapies for Developmental Disabilities (2004) indicated that in spite of "limited and mostly negative research findings on SIT", the sensory integration approach remained popular among occupational therapists and "other professionals and clinical populations".
“If I have been productive, it is partly because I have had the advantage of contact with those with the courage as well as the ability to think independently and along unorthodox lines. It has not been easy for the helping professions to conceive of human behavior as an express of the brain, and they are still struggling to do so… The employing of neural mechanisms to enhance motor development is now well established; the current area of major growth and controversy lies in the use of neurological constructs to aid in understanding and ameliorating cognitive functions such as learning disabilities; the next step may well be a more fruitful attack on emotional and behavior disorders.” Jean Ayres Ph.D (1974, p. xi).
Ayres worked at the Institute for Brain Research at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
at Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Biography
A. Jean Ayres was born on a WalnutWalnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
farm in Visalia, California
Visalia, California
Visalia is a Central California city situated in the heart of California’s agricultural San Joaquin Valley, approximately southeast of San Francisco and north of Los Angeles...
in 1920 to Fletcher Ayres and Louise Stamm, who were both school teachers. As she grew up she claimed to have symptoms similar to those of the dysfunction she would later study.
Ayres received her BA in occupational therapy
Occupational therapy
Occupational therapy is a discipline that aims to promote health by enabling people to perform meaningful and purposeful activities. Occupational therapists work with individuals who suffer from a mentally, physically, developmentally, and/or emotionally disabling condition by utilizing treatments...
in 1945, her MA in occupational therapy in 1954, and her PhD in educational psychology
Educational psychology
Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. Educational psychology is concerned with how students learn and develop, often focusing...
in 1961. All her degrees were from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
. Following her training, she began work at the UCLA Brain Research Institute, where her interest and study of sensory integration dysfunction began.
When confronted with patients who complained of experiencing pain when brushing their hair or teeth, Dr. Ayres came to the conclusion that the cause was inefficient organization of sensory information within the nervous system. She believed this inefficiency led to a multitude of symptoms, including disorganization and learning troubles.
For her work in identifying and treating sensory integration dysfunction]] she received awards from the American Occupational Therapy Association
American Occupational Therapy Association
The American Occupational Therapy Association is the national professional association established in 1917 to represent the interests and concerns of occupational therapy practitioners and students and improve the quality of occupational therapy services...
. She was also mentioned by name in the 1971 edition of the Outstanding Educators of America.
In 1976, Ayres founded the Ayres Clinic in Torrance, California
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...
for children being treated by sensory integration therapists.
Ayres died from complications of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
on December 16, 1989.