Validity of the Occupational Performance Scale of the Sensory Processing Three Dimensions Measure

Abstract

Importance: The Sensory Processing Three Dimensions (SP3D) Occupational Performance Scale (OPS) is a new parent-report measure developed for use as part of a comprehensive occupational therapy evaluation for children with sensory processing and integration challenges.Objective: To examine the internal consistency and discriminant validity of the SP3D OPS, examine relations between sensory processing subtypes and areas of occupational performance (OP), and determine the extent to which specific sensory processing challenges predict problems with OP.Design: Nonexperimental, descriptive design using correlations, group comparisons, and stepwise regression.Setting: Three outpatient clinic sites in the United States.Participants: Parents of 66 children (33 typically developing and 33 with clinical problems) ranging in age from 4 to 12 yr.Outcomes and Measures: The SP3D OPS and SP3D Inventory were completed by parents to address psychometrics of the SP3D OPS and determine the association between sensory processing and integration challenges with OP.Results: Internal consistency reliability and discriminant validity of the SP3D OPS were supported. Scores on the Dyspraxia and Sensory Overresponsivity subscales best predicted deficits in OP. Significant relations were found between sensory processing and integration and competency in multiple OP areas. Conclusions and Relevance:The SP3D OPS shows promise as a measure of OP. The OP deficits among children with sensory processing and integration challenges are in part due to subtype presentation. Further studies of the SP3D OPS's reliability and validity are needed.What This Article Adds: This new occupational performance measure shows associations between sensory processing and OP areas. It can provide information to support therapists in identifying family concerns relevant to goal setting and intervention.C hildren with sensory processing and integration challenges make up a large percentage of those seen in pediatric occupational therapy practice (Mailloux & Smith Roley, 2010). Sensory processing and integration globally describes the ability to regulate one's responses to sensory experiences in an adaptive manner and to integrate bodily and environmental sensory experiences to act in the world (Miller, 2014). Challenges or dysfunction in sensory processing and integration have consistently been shown to influence participation in everyday life activities across occupations and contexts (Bar-Shalita et al., 2008;Chien et al., 2016). This ability to engage in daily occupations in the environment is referred to in the occupational therapy literature as occupational performance (OP;Law et al., 1996).Occupations reflect the everyday activities that give meaning and purpose to one's life (American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 2020). Therefore, occupational therapy services are often recommended for people whose sensory processing and integration deficits interfere with OP. Moreover, the occupational therapy profession has an interest in gaining a better understan...

Feasibility of OT-Parentship: An intervention for parents of adolescents with autism

“…The protocol couples parent and adolescent goals in a unique form -parents are encouraged to set goals that amplify their specific role in advancing the adolescent goal; (3) the therapeutic relationship and communication were enhanced by continuously using the IRM model to respond to parent's needs during the session. These three active ingredients are consistent with the recommendations of Schoen et al (2021) for parental involvement in the assessment process, which should include a parent-therapist discussion regarding areas of concern in daily life. This process strives for a better understanding of the relationships between body functions and occupational performance in order to promote family-centered care and for determining meaningful intervention goals; (4) In the qualitative analysis of this study (Kahlon et al, 2023), Self Determination Theory (SDT; Ryan and Deci, 2017) was found to be an adequate theoretical framework that can help in understanding treatment outcomes.…”

Sensory Modulation in Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder Compared to Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typically Developing Children

“…Sensory processing is defined as “the ability to manage detection, modulation, interpretation, and organization of incoming sensory information” [ 1 , 2 ]. Recently, there has been an explosion of interest in sensory processing, in part related to the addition of sensory responsivity to the diagnostic criteria of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) [ 3 ] and the increasing recognition that impairments in sensory processing, sometimes referred to as sensory processing disorder (SPD), affect everyday performance and participation [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Sensory processing includes both the ability to discriminate sensory information as well as the ability to modulate incoming sensory information.…”