My preemie twins were in OT for sensory issues for 5 years in the case of my son, and 4 1/2 years in the case of my daughter.
The head of OT who evaluated my son cautioned me that his sensory issues were so severe that he might be a child who I simply could never take to the store because the overstimulation would be too much for my child to handle. Similarly, he looked like a poster child for ADHD up to the age of 3. Though ADHD is not diagnosed in children that young, the attentional issues were striking.
I wanted to be able to look my children in the eye and say I did everything I could to help them. I aggressively pursued therapies. For us, therapy worked. It wasn't perfect; issues remained. But, by and large, I consider my aggressive pursuit of therapies for my children one of my wisest decisions and acts.
Now, at age 7, my former poster child for ADHD has never behaved in a manner that resulted in even one person raising the possibility that he has ADHD. The twins still have sensory issues, but they are relatively mild with minimal to no impact on their lives.
My son did have an exacerbation of gravitational insecurity that resulted in a lot of anxiety -- to the point a child psychologist suggested he might need an SSRI. I had heard that sensory issues and anxiety issues can overlap. I told her I wouldn't consider medication before first seeing if treatment of the gravitational insecurity provided relief from his anxiety. I decided to enroll him in gymnastics, and then if that didn't work, resume OT. Gymnastics and then swimming worked like a charm. My son no longer struggles with gravitational issues, and his anxiety has dramatically improved. I've concluded that gymnastics and swimming help my children's sensory issues immensely. Supplements for a not uncommon metabolic disorder helped immensely, too.
I also respectfully submit a different interpretation of your students' experience that may warrant considering. Rather than believing OT only provided a short-term relief, I would interpret that relief as demonstratating that those OT activities could help -- and that the OT activities needed to be repeated. I never broached OT as something we did once a week; when I did during times of acute stress, like a move, I felt like a failure. I always had understood that I was learning what activities I needed to do on a regular, on-going basis to help my children. And doing that, incorporating swinging and trampoline, etc., into our daily lives helped my children immensely.
Hope this helps.
