|
|
Sensory Processing Measure
(SPM)
Home Form
by L. Diane Parham, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA, and Cheryl Ecker, M.A., OTR/L
Main Classroom and School Environments
Forms by Heather Miller Kuhaneck, M.S., OTR/L, Diana A. Henry,
M.S., OTR/L, and Tara J. Glennon, Ed.D., OTR/L, FAOTA |
|
|
|
With the Sensory Processing
Measure (SPM), you can now get a complete picture of children's sensory
functioning at home, at school, and in the community. Recognizing that
sensory processing problems often manifest differently in different
environments, this set of three integrated rating scales assesses sensory
processing, praxis, and social participation in elementary school children.
The assessment's unique multienvironment approach lets you see, for example,
why a child who functions well in a highly structured classroom may have
problems in a more relaxed setting.
Firmly grounded in sensory
integration theory, the SPM provides norm-referenced standard scores for two
higher level integrative functions--praxis and
social participation--and five sensory systems--visual,
auditory,
tactile,
proprioceptive, and
vestibular functioning.
Within each system, it offers descriptive clinical information on processing
vulnerabilities, including under- and overresponsiveness, sensory-seeking
behavior, and perceptual problems.
Three Forms
The SPM consists
of three forms:
-
Home Form
-
Main Classroom Form
-
School Environments Form
The Home Form (75 items)
is completed by the child's parent or home-based care provider. The Main
Classroom Form (62 items) is filled out by the child's primary classroom
teacher. And the School Environments Form (10 to 15 items per environment)
is completed by other school personnel who work with and observe the child.
Home and Main
Classroom Forms
Each requiring
just 15 to 20 minutes, the Home and Main Classroom Forms yield eight
parallel standard scores:
-
Social Participation
-
Vision
-
Hearing
-
Touch
-
Body Awareness (proprioception)
-
Balance and Motion (vestibular function)
-
Planning and Ideas (praxis)
-
Total Sensory Systems
Scores for each scale
fall into one of three interpretive ranges: Typical, Some Problems, or
Definite Dysfunction. In addition, for the first time, an Environment
Difference score permits direct comparison of the child's sensory
functioning at home and at school. While the scales on the Home and Main
Classroom Forms are identical, the items themselves are specific to each
environment. Individual item responses reveal how sensory difficulties
manifest in these two different settings.
School
Environments Form
Provided on an unlimited-use CD, this form lets you look at the child's
functioning in six school environments outside of the main classroom: Art
Class, Music Class, Physical Education Class, Recess/Playground, Cafeteria,
and School Bus. Each environment has its own rating sheet, which can be
printed and distributed to raters as needed. Each rater can complete his or
her 15-item rating sheet (10 items for the School Bus setting) in less than
5 minutes. Each rating sheet is interpreted using a cutoff score for the
environment to which it applies. Scores at or above the cutoff point
indicate that the child is experiencing an unusually high number of sensory
processing problems in a given environment. Whether you use one or all six
rating sheets, the School Environments Form must always be administered in
conjunction with the Main Classroom Form; it cannot be used alone.
Because it solicits
input from school staff members who are not normally involved in
assessment--the art teacher and school bus driver, for example--the School
Environments Form serves a team-building function. It educates school
personnel about sensory processing disorders and uses their observations to
obtain a more comprehensive picture of the child.
Comprehensive,
Clinically Rich, and Psychometrically Sound
The Home Form and Main Classroom Form were standardized on a demographically
representative sample of 1,051 typically developing children in Grades K
through 6. For the Home Form scale scores, internal consistency (a)
estimates ranged from .77 to .95 (median = .85), and test-retest reliability
estimates ranged from .94 to .98 (median = .97). For the Main Classroom Form
scale scores, internal consistency estimates ranged from .75 to .95 (median
= .86), and test-retest reliability estimates ranged from .95 to .98 (median
= .97). A sub sample of 306 children from the standardization sample was
used to develop scores and establish cutoff criteria for the School
Environments Form. The School Environments scores yielded internal
consistency values ranging from .82 to .91 (median = .89). A separate sample
of 345 children receiving occupational therapy intervention was used to
verify that the SPM scales can differentiate typical children from those
with clinical disorders. In addition, factor analysis and correlational
studies provided evidence for the validity of the scale scores. Studies
reported in the Manual document that the SPM differentiates typical children
from those with clinical disorders.
Whether you're an
occupational therapist, psychologist, teacher, social worker, counselor,
physical therapist, speech-language pathologist, or nurse, you'll find the
SPM comprehensive yet clinically rich. It supplies the information you want
and the psychometric integrity you need.
|
