MINIMUM GLOBAL STANDARDS FOR ASI TRAINING

In 2017, ICE-ASI ADOPTED AND PUBLISHED THE PATHWAYS TO EXPERTISE (AJOT).

ICE-ASI'S MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR TRAINING PROGRAMS IN AYRES SENSORY INTEGRATION FOR  OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS (OT), PHYSICAL THERAPISTS (PT), AND SPEECH-LANGUAGE THERAPISTS (SLT)  WERE APPROVED AT THE ICE-ASI COUNCIL MEETING IN HONG KONG ON OCTOBER 13, 2019. 

THE MINIMUM STANDARDS ARE CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW.  The Education and Program Accreditation Committees together with our Director of Leadership will develop a draft of a modern competency and practice-based framework that describes a progressive process of professional development in ASI, rooted in competency-based education and grounded in clinical, academic, and research excellence. The proposal will then be adopted by the ICE-ASI Council. As long as no new standards are published, the Minimum Standards from 2019 serve as the guideline.  

ICE-ASI's mission is to protect fidelity to Ayres’ original theory and practice and to ensure that educational programs reflect current research and best practice.  As each country represented b y our member organizations has its own professional frameworks, regulations, and systems of care, no single pathway can serve every context. Therefore, ICE-ASI's minimum global standards from 2019 act as a floor — the essential foundation upon which fidelity and integrity can be guaranteed. Above this floor, countries and organizations are free to develop their own ceilings, shaping programs that meet national requirements and reflect local professional and cultural needs. This model supports both global consistency and local adaptability.

The ICE-ASI Minimum Standards for ASI Training rest on premises that go back to Dr Ayres' original criteria for SI training and structural criteria that were set forth in the ASI Fidelity Measure (ASIFM; Parham et al.,  2007, 2011).

1. Paramedical profession degree: only Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists and Speech Therapists (Speech & language Pathologists) are eligible to be trained in ASI treatment, i.e. all other professions must be excluded from treatment courses. This eligibility criterion goes back to Dr Ayres ' eligibility criteria for her SI training at the University of Southern California, OT610.

2. ASI training: post-graduate, min. 50 education hours in ASI theory and practice (certificate program or university/college course). Therapist needs Supervision (need not be part of the training program.)

3. Comprehensive evaluation and interpretation of the relationship of sensory integration and praxis functions to referring problems. Data collected through standardized and norm referenced measures  as well as unstructured observations and parent reports. Areas that need to be evaluated include sensory modulation / reactivity, sensory discrimination / perception in tactile, vestibular & proprioceptive systems, postural-ocular control, bilateral motor coordination, visual perceptual / fine motor skills,  praxis (imitating, constructing, planning and sequencing one or more activities or interactions),  organizational skills. Goal Setting in case ASI intervention is recommended. 

DURATION:

Minimum total duration of the program is 120 hours with at least 50% given onsite with the participants.  

AREAS OF CONTENT:

1. Theroetical Foundations of ASI
2. Interpretation of Assessment Data to inform Clinical Reasoning
3. Evaluation of Sensory Integration Function and Dysfunction
4. ASI Intervention

COMPETENCY CONTROL:

At each stage of training, some form of assessment of participant knowledge must occur.

The outcomes of the education program should include the following: 

Knowledge and Understanding:

The successful learner will know and understand:

1. Origins of Sensory Integration Theory: how and why Ayres gathered data, including knowledge and understanding of the  models linked to SI (and limits to each)
2. Typical development of sensory integration across the lifespan
3. Neuroscience: neurophysiology and anatomy, sensory systems and how they interact to facilitate function
4. Existing clinical reasoning models such as Data Driven Decision Making (Schaaf, 2015) and ASI Assessment® and  Interpretation Tool, Schaaf & Mailloux, 2015);
5. Know range of assessment tools available to evaluate ASI and praxis function and dysfunction. Limits and strengths of  tools/consider others – reliability and validity. Discriminate between Standardized and non-Standardized.
6. Patterns of dysfunction – defined by ASI theory
7. Know and understand ASI terms
8. Knowledge base for intervention planning
9. Knowledge base for intervention (see and experience, e.g. video/hands-on under supervision; know about fidelity process)
10. Know when to use and apply ASI with in own profession; know when and where to seek sufficient/support (from within own  profession and from outside)

Skills:

The successful learner will be able to: 

1. Make objective observations without jumping to conclusions/interpretations
2. Base interpretation on objective data
3. Choose ASI assessment tools and methods and other assessments needed to establish and achieve  meaningful goals
4. Choose and administer ASI assessment tools and additional assessments specific to the profession (OT, PT,  SLP)
5. Interpret, synthesize and analyze assessment data
6. Communicate ASI terms
7. Communicate/write assessment results to others in a conclusive and understandable way
8. Relate assessment findings to participation and functional challenges (referral reason)
9. Make an impact and empower others to effect change for the person with ASI dysfunction
10. Know when you do not know and who to refer to
11. Understand therapeutic use of self in ASI
12. Create playful interaction and trust
13. Meet fidelity criteria in practice

In line with current best practices in higher and professional education, the ICE-ASI framework for the Pathway to Expertise in ASI and the Minimal Standards in Education (MSE) will likely integrate:

1. COMPETENCIES

Each level outlines core competencies—integrated knowledge, skills, and attitudes—aligned with evidence-based practice in sensory integration and occupational therapy. these competencies define what the learner is expected to demonstrate consistently across clinical, academic, and advocacy contexts. 

2. LEARNING OUTCOMES

At each pathway level, learning outcomes will describe the broad capabilities learners are expected to achieve. These outcomes articulate the professional identity, reasoning, and scope of responsibility appropriate to that stage of development.

3. ENTRUSTABLE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES (EPAS)

ICE-ASI will integrate EPAs to make learning highly practical and observable. EPAs are real-world tasks—such as conducting an ASI assessment, writing a fidelity-based intervention plan, or communicating ASI findings to parents—that a practitioner is entrusted to perform independently once competence has been demonstrated.

EPAs translate theoretical knowledge into tangible responsibility and reflect the trust that supervisors, institutions, and clients place in a trained ASI practitioner. 

4. MICRO-CREDENTIALS AND DIGITAL BADGES

Recommendation to support flexible, modular learning and international recognition (e.g., “ASI-Fidelity-Based Intervention Planner,” “ASI Assessment Synthesizer”) at specific points in their training journey. These badges:

The Minimal Standards for ASI Certificate Programs will likely contain the following sections: