Evaluating the use of the wilbarger intervention with schizophrenic patients: a pilot study

Individuals with schizophrenia have difficulty processing sensory information. The authors hypothesized that the Wilbarger intervention, an occupational therapy technique successfully used to treat children with sensory integration deficits, might prove beneficial if used with schizophrenic patients. Thirty inpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders voluntarily participated. Each was evaluated using the sensory integration subscale of the Neurological Evaluation Scale (NES) both pre- and post-intervention. The Wilbarger was scheduled to be administered five times per day for seven days per week for four weeks. Participants averaged 19.5 days (mean) in the study (median=27.5 days) and received 80.4 (mean) (106.5 median) interventions.Those receiving 90 or more interventions improved significantly on the graphesthesia subtest (t(28)=2.498; p<0.019), the right/left confusion subtest (t(28)=2.373; p<0.025) and the post-total score (t(28)=2.184; p<0.037). Sensory subscales of the NES statistically improved after use of the Wilbarger intervention. Further studies are planned to determine the duration and clinical significance of the noted changes.