1. Infant AND TODDLER SENSORY PROFILE
Lauren Tumey & Sarah Durham

2. PURPOSE:
To evaluate possible sensory processing patterns that support and/or interfere with a child’s daily functional performance.
Helps to identify which specific sensory system or systems are contributing to dysfunctional behavior.
Provides information about the child’s level of responsivity (hyper responsive or hypo responsive)

3. Key Characteristics Written by Winnie Dunn, OTR
Age: Birth to 36 months
Available in English or Spanish
Assessment approach:
Judgment based-Caregiver Questionnaire
Ecological and Top Down
Supports family-centered care philosophy
Caregiver main source of data collection
Assesses child’s response to sensory stimuli in a natural environment (daily routines at home)
This tool can be used in early intervention and private practice setting.
Judgment based- in form of caregiver questionnaire
Ecological- looks at home environment
Top down- looks at function and split into domains

4. Key Characteristics Frame of references Length= 30 minutes
Sensory Integration
Neuroscience
Length= 30 minutes
15 minutes to administer
15 minutes to score
Areas of occupation
ADLs (Sleep, eating, bathing, grooming, toileting)
Social participation
Play
FOR:
Neuroscience- the physiology of why brain may be functioning at high or low sensory neurological threshold
Examples of questions:
ADLS
Sleep= My child has difficulty getting to sleep and is easily awakened
toileting= My child seems unaware of dirty diapers
Bathing= My child becomes agitated when getting hair washed
Social participation= My child avoids playing with others
Play= My child finds ways to make noise with toys

5. Test Cost Complete kit =$200.00 Profile User’s Manual= $114.00
Includes user’s manual, 25 questionnaires, and 25 summary score sheets
Profile User’s Manual= $114.00
Questionnaire(25)= $59.00
Summary Score Sheet(25)=$35.00
ler-sensory-profile.html?Pid=

6. DOMAINS: Quadrants: Sensory processing sections: low registration
sensation seeking
sensory sensitivity
sensation avoiding
Sensory processing sections:
general
auditory
visual
tactile
vestibular
oral ( 7-36 months only)

7. TESTING PROCEDURES: 3 ways to administer:
Send Caregiver Questionnaire with cover letter for specific instructions home with parent
Have caregiver complete form in office or clinic
Help caregiver fill out questionnaire( possible language differences/reading disabilities)
Inform caregiver to fill out front page of Caregiver Questionnaire including: child’s name, child’s birthdate, caregiver name, relationship to child, and other questions.

8. SPECIFIC ADMINISTRATION PROCEDURE:
Instruct caregiver to read each item on the questionnaire and check the box that best describes the frequency which he/she observes the behaviors.
1 Almost always: >90%
2 Frequently: about 75%
3 Occasionally: about 50%
4 Seldom: about 25%
5 Almost never: <10%
Encourage caregiver to make comments under each section and make sure caregiver answers 2 questions at end of questionnaire.
Make sure all items are completed because raw scores cannot be completed for that section or quadrant if one is missing.
2 questions at end:
What do you see as your child’s strengths?
What are your concerns?

9. EXAMPLES OF TEST ITEMS:
Birth to 6 months:
36 items
7 -36 months:
48 items
7-36 months

10. Demonstration

11. Scoring: Quadrant Grids
Low threshold explain how questions overlapped
Explain how they must both be outside typical range to be scored properly

12. Interpretation: 7-36 months
Definite difference: outside + or – 2 SD
Probable difference: within +/- 1 to 2 SD range
Typical performance: at or between +/- 1 SD
Notice the age categories: must adjust for age trends

13. Interpretation: birth- 6 months
Consult and follow-up
Scores outside + or – 1 SD
Typical performance
Scores at or between + or – 1 SD

14. Interpretation: Sensory Processing Sections
7-36 months ONLY
Reliability was not consistent for 6 months to have sensory processing scores

15. Test Results The results of this measure are not to be used alone.
Should be used in combination with other evaluations, observations, and reports.
Measure reveals child’s sensory patterns based on Dunn’s Model of Sensory Processing
This helps in guiding treatment planning.

16. Test Development Developed first from the Sensory Profile (ages 3-10)
Exploratory study-100 parents of infants and toddlers completed Sensory Profile and marked out any inappropriate age items.
Expert panel- reviewed and sorted items into quadrants
Pilot study- Clinical Edition
Infant/Toddler Sensory Profile –Standardization Edition study

17. STANDARDIZATION: Standardization sample
0-6 months= 100
7-36 months=489
U.S. children without disabilities
Item bias review:
Age, gender, region of U.S., ethnicity, yearly income, and type of community

18. What about children with disabilities?
Measure was standardized for children birth to 36 months without disability, but data was provided to guide interpretation for children with the following disabilities:
Developmental delay
Health impairments and metabolic disorders
Pervasive developmental disorder (autism)
Down syndrome
Sensory integrative dysfunction
Language delay
Manual provides appendix that graphs the mean and -/+ 1 SD scores for children with and without disabilities.

19. PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES:
Internal Consistency Reliability
Test-Retest Reliability
Validity
Birth to 6 months
( )
Test-Retest Structure (n=32)
Content Validity Established through exploratory study, expert panels, and pilot study
7 to 36 months
(.42 to .86)
Sensory processing section scores = .86
Convergent and Discriminant Evidence (Construct and Concurrent Validity): Criterion measure- Infant/Toddler Symptom Checklist
Quadrant scores=.74
Convergent & discriminant= both criterion & construct validity
Standard Error of Measurement (SEM) values are provided for each quadrant and sensory section raw score totals. SEM aid in calculation of confidence intervals.

20. Measurement Concerns Judgment based tool
rating is based on parent’s interpretation ( could be bias)
Should be used in combination with other tools
Can be used by many professionals but recommend background in sensory processing
Adequate reliability

21. Reference
Dunn, W. (2002). Infant/Toddler Sensory Profile. Bloomington, MN: NCS Pearson, INC.