This illustration outlines the foundational skills at the bottom of the pyramid, and the skills that are supported by the foundational skills on the tiers above. Once the bottom tiers of the pyramid are adequate, the tiers above can be more efficiently developed. Addressing the skills in this order is known as utilizing the bottom-up approach.
Originally development by Dr. A. Jean Ayres starting in the 1960’s, Ayres Sensory Integration® is an evidence-based practice area, primarily used within occupational therapy. Sensory integration is the essential process of integrating the multiple and changing sensations from the body and environment, at all times each and every day, make sense of the world, and inform actions and the way we feel while interacting. ASI consists of a neurologically based theory about the way in which sensory information from the body and about the world is integrated and informs actions and interactions and a therapeutic method for supporting this ability in people. ASI theory has evolved over the last 50 years, with increasing support from behavioral and applied science of its relevance and effectiveness