Biography
Ayres was born on a walnut farm in Visalia, California 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 in 1945, her MA in occupational therapy in 1954, and her PhD in educational psychology in 1961. All her degrees were from the University of Southern California. 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, 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. 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 for children being treated by sensory integration therapists.
Ayres died from complications of cancer on December 16, 1989.
Read more about this topic: Anna Jean Ayres
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