ASSESSMENT OF SENSORY PROCESSING IN INFANTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

M. Gkaraveli^1,2, V. Sakellari¹, T. Bania³, E. Grammatopoulou¹, P. Morfis⁴

¹University of West Attica, School of Health and Care Sciences, Department of Physiotherapy, Athens, Greece, ²ELEPAP-Rehabilitation for the Disabled, Department of Physiotherapy, Athens, Greece, ³University of Patras, School of Health Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Physiotherapy, Rio, Greece, ⁴National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Department of Medicine, Athens, Greece

Background: Recent studies reveal that early childhood sensory experiences appear to play a key role in promoting skills acquisition, health, and well-being of infants. Identifying the most appropriate assessment tools in these young people will help clinicians to provide more appropriate interventions to them.

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review is to identify the assessment tools used to measure sensory processing in infancy (from birth to the first 2 years of life). Also, to determine the psychometric properties and the clinical use of these tools.

Methods: The systematic literature search was performed in the following databases PubMed, ScienceDirect and Google Scholarfrom the earliest available time using keywords relevant to sensory processing and infancy.

Results: Eleven studies (n= 990) were included in the review. Five scales were reported: the Test of Sensory Functions in Infants (TSFI) in 5 studies (n= 301), the Infant/Toddler Sensory Profile (ITSP) in 4 studies (n= 566), the Sensory Rating Scale (SRS) in 1 study (n= 67), the Sensory Processing Scale (SPS) in 2 studies (n= 176) and the Neuro-Sensory Motor Developmental Assessment (NSMDA) in 1 study (n= 61). For the TSFI test-retest reliability, Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (CCI) ranged from 0.54 to0.74, and the scale demonstrated a moderate to high degree of content validity. For the ITSP test-retest reliability, ICC ranged from 0.87 to 0.97. For the internal consistency, Cronbach's α ranged from 0.60 to 0.90, and the scale revealed a moderate to high degree of content validity. For the SRS inter-rater reliability, ICC was 0.43. For the scale’s internal consistency, Cronbach's α ranged from 0.83 to 0.90, while the validity of the scale was not reported. For the SPS, internal consistency Cronbach's α ranged from 0.79 to 0.93 and the scale demonstrated significant discriminant validity (p < 0.01). For the NSMDA, reliability was not clarified, but the scale seems to have significant predictive validity (sensitivity/specificity) (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Test-retest reliability appeared to be moderate to high for TSFI and ITSP, while internal consistency high for most scales. Further, evidence of significant content validity was reported again for two scales (TSFI and ITSP), while even less evidence exists for significant discriminant validity (reported only for SPS) and for significant predictive validity (reported only for NSMDA). Thus, certain types of reliability and validity need to be examined for some of these scales. The sensory processing assessment tools assess different aspects of sensory processing.

Implications: The choice of the most appropriate assessment tool of sensory processing depends on the domains of sensory processing to be assessed, the age of the infant, and the available sources of information on the infant's development.
Evidence of adequate degree of reliability and validity of the sensory processing assessment tools is also important to take reliable and valid assessments.

Funding acknowledgements: NONE

Keywords:
sensory processing
outcome measure
infant

Topics:
Paediatrics
Paediatrics: cerebral palsy
Disability & rehabilitation

Did this work require ethics approval? No

Reason: This is a systematic review of the literature, as such, no participants or any personal data were required. In addition no intervention was applied