Reliability of the process section was strong for total fidelity score (ICC = .99, Cronbach's alpha = .99) and acceptable for most items. Total score significantly differentiated ASI from four alternative interventions. Expert ratings indicated strong agreement that items in the structural and process sections represent ASI intervention. CONCLUSION. The Ayres Sensory Integration Fidelity Measure has strong content validity. The process section is reliable and valid when scored by trained raters with expertise in ASI.

Validity of sensory integration outcomes studies is threatened by weak fidelity in regard to therapeutic process. Inferences regarding sensory integration effectiveness cannot be drawn with confidence until fidelity is adequately addressed in outcomes research.

Occupational therapists who are interested in exporting occupational science concepts or occupational therapy practice principles to different cultural groups often encounter problems surrounding the translation of information from one language to another. The case example presented in this article illustrates how one might go about generating a valid translation of a questionnaire with the use of current cross-cultural research guidelines for the translation process. Issues surrounding cultural relevance and linguistic meaning are of central concern in the translation process.

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OBJECTIVES. We examined whether children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) differ in autonomic activity at rest and in response to auditory stimuli and whether behavioral problems related to sounds in everyday life are associated with autonomic responses to auditory stimuli.METHOD. We measured skin conductance (SC) at rest and in response to auditory stimuli as well as behavioral responses using the Sensory Processing Measure (SPM) Home Form. Participants were 25 children with ASD and 25 typically developing (TD) children, aged 5-12 yr.RESULTS. The ASD group had significantly higher resting SC and stronger SC reactivity to tones than the TD group. Correlations between SC and SPM indicated that more severe auditory behavioral difficulties were associated with higher sympathetic activation at rest and stronger sympathetic reactivity to sound. CONCLUSION.High sympathetic reactivity to sound may underlie the difficult behavioral responses to sound that children with ASD often demonstrate.