Development of the Sensory Processing Measure-School: Initial Studies of Reliability and Validity

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

3-2007

Abstract

OBJECTIVE. The history and development of the Sensory Processing Measure-School are detailed, and findings of initial pilot studies are reported.

METHOD. Multiple reviews, focus groups, case studies, and two pilot studies were used to develop the early versions of the tool. Internal consistency and discriminatory ability were examined.

RESULTS. Internal consistency measured with Cronbach's alphas ranged from .93 to .99 in the first pilot study and .70 to .99 in the second pilot study. Children who were typically developing were correctly classified 92.3% of the time, and children with sensory issues were correctly classified 72% of the time.

CONCLUSION. Initial results suggest that the tool is reliable and valid and discriminates children with and without sensory processing issues. Further research is under way with larger samples.

Over the past 10 years, important changes have occurred in what is considered to be best practice in occupational therapy in the schools (Muhlenhaupt, 2003; Roley, Clark, Bissell, & Brayman, 2003; Swinth & Muhlenhaupt, 2004). Concurrently, occupational therapists are increasingly being asked to evaluate schoolchildren to determine the impact of sensory processing difficulties on the child's educational performance. In response to this need, the Sensory Processing Measure-School (SPM-School) was created.

DOI

10.5014/ajot.61.2.170

Publication

American Journal of Occupational Therapy

Volume

61

Issue

2

Pages

170-175

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