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Sensory Processing Measure - Preschool

Sensory Processing Measure - Preschool

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Purpose

Developed by occupational therapists to identify problems with sensory processing, bodily movement, and social participation among preschool children ages 2 to 5. The test authors suggest using the SPM-P when 5-year olds have not yet started kindergarten.

Link to Instrument

Acronym SPM-P

Area of Assessment

Activities of Daily Living
Balance – Non-vestibular
Balance – Vestibular
Vestibular

Administration Mode

Paper & Pencil

Cost

Not Free

Actual Cost

$160.00

Cost Description

Both the paper kit and online kit are $160.00

Key Descriptions

  • The SPM-P is a set of two rating forms that enables assessment of sensory processing issues, praxis, and social participation in children of preschool age (2-5 years old). Together, these rating forms provide a broad perspective on a young child’s sensory functioning in home, preschool, and community environments.
  • Raters of the SPM-P have to observe the child in the environment being rated for at least one month, but the child does not need to be present.
  • Two forms include:
    1) Home Form (75 items): completed by child's parent or home-based care provider
    2) School Form (75 items): completed by child's primary preschool teacher or daycare provider
  • Scores for each scale fall into one of three interpretive ranges:
    1) Typical
    2) Some Problems
    3) Definite Dysfunction
  • Response options include:
    1) Never
    2) Occasionally
    3) Frequently
    4) Always
  • Cutoff scores indicate presence or absence of sensory processing problems in each setting, providing a more comprehensive picture of the child.

Number of Items

Home Form: 75 items

School Form: 75 items

Equipment Required

  • Pencil
  • Online or print forms

Time to Administer

15-20 minutes

Time estimate is per each form

Required Training

No Training

Age Ranges

2 - 5

years

Instrument Reviewers

Initially reviewed by University of Illinois at Chicago Master of Science in Occupational Therapy students Julia Bates, Carol Brod, Louis Calderone, and Ariana Rodriguez.

Body Part

Back
Head
Lower Extremity
Neck
Upper Extremity

ICF Domain

Body Function
Body Structure
Participation

Measurement Domain

Sensory

Professional Association Recommendation

SPM-P supports the principles of RTI and provides use in the field for evidence based practice and monitoring progress.

Considerations

  • The SPM-P was developed and standardized in the United States with typically developing children. This could result in significant cultural bias.

  • Efforts to standardize the assessment with a representative sample of the United States population were taken, however there was an overrepresentation of parents with higher education status and SES (college degree or more), geographical distribution (majority from the Midwest), and two-parent households.

  • Only 25 percent of the sample size identified from a cultural or ethnic minority background, and male children outnumbered female children two to one.

  • Information was not included about whether standardization population was from rural or urban settings, which could result in an additional geographical bias.

Pediatric Disorders

back to Populations

Standard Error of Measurement (SEM)

Normative Sample: (Glennon, Miller Kuhaneck, & Herzberg, 2011)

95% Confidence Intervals for Scale T-Scores Based on Two Reliability Methods

   

 

Standard Error of Measurement (SEM) T-Scores

 

Scale

Test-retest Reliability

Internal Consistency

Home Form

 

 

Social Participation (SOC)

2.59

3.26

Vision (VIS)

2.93

3.94

Hearing (HEA)

2.59

4.06

Touch (TOU)

1.35

4.31

Body Awareness (BOD)

2.76

4.60

Balance & Motion (BAL)

2.70

4.40

Planning & Ideas (PLA)

2.07

3.94

Total Sensory Systems (TOT)

1.84

2.54

Main Classroom Form

 

 

Social Participation (SOC)

2.76

2.54

Vision (VIS)

2.65

4.20

Hearing (HEA)

2.74

4.10

Touch (TOU)

2.46

4.36

Body Awareness (BOD)

1.82

2.84

Balance & Motion (BAL)

2.32

4.54

Planning & Ideas (PLA)

2.48

3.49

Total Sensory Systems (TOT)

2.01

2.46

Note: SEM = standard error of measurement.

Cut-Off Scores

Cutoff score of = 60: (Glennon et al., 2011)

  • The Home TOT (Total Sensory Systems) scale demonstrated sensitivity of 0.64 and specificity of 0.84. In other words, 64% of children with sensory processing disorders had Home TOT T-scores of 60 or higher, and 84% of typically developing children had T-scores of 59 or less.

  • At = 60, the School TOT scale had sensitivity of 0.52 and specificity of 0.82.

Normative Data

U.S. Typically Developing Children and Children Receiving Occupational Therapy: (Glennon et al., 2011)

  • SPM-P is based on a nationally representative sample of 651 typically developing and 242 children receiving occupational therapy intervention aged 2 to 5.

Test/Retest Reliability

U.S. Typically Developing Children and Children Receiving Occupational Therapy: (Glennon et al., 2011)

  • SPM-P School and Home forms test-retest reliability was found to have excellent stability using over a two-week time period (r > 0.90).

Internal Consistency

U.S. Typically Developing Children and Children Receiving Occupational Therapy: (Glennon et al., 2011)

  • Adequate internal consistency of SPM-P Home Form (Cronbach's Alpha ≥ .80)

  • Adequate internal consistency of SPM-P Classroom Form (Cronbach's Alpha ≥ .80)

Construct Validity

Convergent:

U.S. Typically Developing Children and Children Receiving Occupational Therapy: (Glennon et al., 2011)

  • Convergent validity study: 137 children (90 boys, 47 girls) for Short Sensory Profile Total score and 105 children (74 boys, 31 girls) for the other Short Sensory Profile scales.

    • All correlations greater than 0.19 are statistically significant

    • Total scores of two measures correlate very strongly (r = 0.62), which exceeds threshold for large effect size

    • Correlations greater in magnitude for Short Sensory Profile scales that share content similarity with SPM-P Home Form scales

  • Convergent validity study: 62 children (42 boys, 2 girls) performed using Infant/Toddler Sensory Profile (overlaps with SPM-P for 2-year-olds

    • All correlations greater than 0.24 are statistically significant.

    • Correlations between two measures are generally strong, but less specific than is optimal for convergent validity.

  • Convergent validity study: 20 children (16 boys, 4 girls) with scales from School Companion

    • Findings generally support convergent validity.

Discriminant:

U.S. Typically Developing Children and Children Receiving Occupational Therapy: (Glennon et al., 2011)

  • The tool is able to distinguish between typically developing children and those with disorders.

  • all effect sizes exceed threshold for medium effect (0.50) and all but five exceed threshold for large effect size (0.80).

Content Validity

The SPM Standardization Study: Clinic-referred Children Receiving OT Services versus Typically Developing Children:  (Glennon et al., 2011)

  • SPM-P items derived directly from items of predecessor scale of the Sensory Processing Measure (SPM) by Parham, Ecker, Miller Kuhaneck, Henry, & Glennon (2007).

  • Items were subject to expert review; retained only if judged to be adequate representations of function in sensory systems, praxis, and social participation.

  • Earlier development phases generate confidence in content validity of SPM-P items and scales.

Responsiveness

Effect sizes:

SPM-P Raw Scale Scores: Descriptive Statistics and Effect Sizes by Age Group (Glennon et al., 2011)

Scale

Age 2

Ages 3 to 5

Home Form

 

 

Social Participation (SOC)

0.38

0.08

Vision (VIS)

0.23

0.05

Hearing (HEA)

0.05

0.01

Touch (TOU)

0.13

0.03

Body Awareness (BOD)

0.19

0.04

Balance & Motion (BAL)

0.11

0.02

Planning & Ideas (PLA)

0.19

0.04

Total Sensory Systems (TOT)

0.18

0.04

Main Classroom Form

 

 

Social Participation (SOC)

0.61

0.13

Vision (VIS)

0.36

0.08

Hearing (HEA)

0.31

0.07

Touch (TOU)

0.59

0.12

Body Awareness (BOD)

0.51

0.11

Balance & Motion (BAL)

0.43

0.09

Planning & Ideas (PLA)

0.34

0.07

Total Sensory Systems (TOT)

0.55

0.12

Notes: Data from standardization sample only; Age 2: n = 114. Ages 3 to 5: n = 537; effect size of 0.2 is small, 0.5 is medium, 0.8 is large; effect size refers to the difference between the group mean and the grand mean divided by the pooled standard deviation.

SPM-P Raw Scale Scores: Descriptive Statistics and Effect Sizes by Gender

Scale

Males

Females

Home Form

 

 

Social Participation (SOC)

0.12

0.12

Vision (VIS)

0.03

0.03

Hearing (HEA)

0.02

0.02

Touch (TOU)

0.07

0.07

Body Awareness (BOD)

0.15

0.14

Balance & Motion (BAL)

0.03

0.03

Planning & Ideas (PLA)

0.06

0.06

Total Sensory Systems (TOT)

0.05

0.05

Main Classroom Form

 

 

Social Participation (SOC)

0.17

0.16

Vision (VIS)

0.14

0.13

Hearing (HEA)

0.10

0.10

Touch (TOU)

0.15

0.14

Body Awareness (BOD)

0.26

0.25

Balance & Motion (BAL)

0.10

0.10

Planning & Ideas (PLA)

0.08

0.08

Total Sensory Systems (TOT)

0.19

0.18

Notes: Data from standardization sample only; Males: n = 319. Females: n = 332; effect size of 0.2 is small, 0.5 is medium, and 0.8 is large; effect size refers to the difference between the group mean and the grand mean divided by the pooled standard deviation.

SPM-P Raw Scale Scores: Descriptive Statistics and Effect Sizes by Ethnicity

Scale

Black

Hispanic

Home Form

 

 

Social Participation (SOC)

0.09

0.12

Vision (VIS)

0.07

0.15

Hearing (HEA)

0.07

0.02

Touch (TOU)

0.10

0.09

Body Awareness (BOD)

0.07

0.00

Balance & Motion (BAL)

0.11

0.35

Planning & Ideas (PLA)

0.01

0.14

Total Sensory Systems (TOT)

0.04

0.14

Main Classroom Form

 

 

Social Participation (SOC)

0.17

0.04

Vision (VIS)

0.02

0.06

Hearing (HEA)

0.15

0.09

Touch (TOU)

0.25

0.03

Body Awareness (BOD)

0.03

0.17

Balance & Motion (BAL)

0.02

0.10

Planning & Ideas (PLA)

0.13

0.36

Total Sensory Systems (TOT)

0.03

0.05

Notes: Data from standardization sample only; Black: n = 42; Hispanic n = 68; effect size of 0.2 is small, 0.5 is medium, 0.8 is large; effect size refers to the difference between the group mean and the grand mean, divided by the pooled standard deviation.

SPM-P Raw Scale Scores: Descriptive Statistics and Effect Sizes by Parent Educational Attainment

Scale

No High School Degree

High School Graduate

Home Form

 

 

Social Participation (SOC)

0.31

0.02

Vision (VIS)

0.03

0.26

Hearing (HEA)

0.09

0.02

Touch (TOU)

0.14

0.04

Body Awareness (BOD)

0.01

0.25

Balance & Motion (BAL)

0.25

0.25

Planning & Ideas (PLA)

0.03

0.03

Total Sensory Systems (TOT)

0.02

0.17

Main Classroom Form

 

 

Social Participation (SOC)

0.21

0.02

Vision (VIS)

0.06

0.08

Hearing (HEA)

0.07

0.01

Touch (TOU)

0.10

0.05

Body Awareness (BOD)

0.12

0.07

Balance & Motion (BAL)

0.21

0.05

Planning & Ideas (PLA)

0.13

0.07

Total Sensory Systems (TOT)

0.00

0.07

Notes: Data from standardization sample only; No High School Degree: n = 81; High School Graduate: n = 80; effect size of 0.2 is small, 0.5 is medium, 0.8 is large; effect size refers to the difference between the group mean and the grand mean divided by the pooled standard deviation.

SPM-P Raw Scale Scores: Descriptive Statistics and Effect Sizes by Clinical Disorder

Scale

Sensory Processing

Autism Spectrum

Speech/ Language Impairment

Mental Retardation/ Developmental Delay

Home Form

 

     

Social Participation (SOC)

0.61

1.89

0.90

0.99

Vision (VIS)

0.93

1.77

0.88

1.21

Hearing (HEA)

0.93

1.54

0.82

1.07

Touch (TOU)

1.20

1.89

1.03

1.25

Body Awareness (BOD)

1.05

1.76

1.04

1.17

Balance & Motion (BAL)

0.97

1.14

0.92

1.12

Planning & Ideas (PLA)

0.72

1.89

0.76

1.08

Total Sensory Systems (TOT)

1.16

1.92

1.07

1.34

Main Classroom Form

 

     

Social Participation (SOC)

1.09

1.75

1.33

1.10

Vision (VIS)

0.75

1.71

1.09

1.07

Hearing (HEA)

0.50

2.08

1.06

1.07

Touch (TOU)

1.16

1.51

1.36

1.14

Body Awareness (BOD)

0.84

1.43

0.90

0.93

Balance & Motion (BAL)

0.85

1.49

0.86

1.23

Planning & Ideas (PLA)

1.40

2.24

1.35

1.23

Total Sensory Systems (TOT)

1.02

1.95

1.25

1.25

Notes: Sensory Processing: n = 22; Autism Spectrum: n = 55; ADHD: n = 25; Mental Retardation/Developmental Delay: n = 92; effect size of 0.2 is small, 0.5 is medium, 0.8 is large; effect size (Cohen’s d) = scale mean in clinical sample minus scale mean in standardization sample divided by pooled standard deviation.

Bibliography

Ayres, A.J. (1979). Sensory integration and the child. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.

Glennon, T.J., Miller Kuhaneck, H., & Herzberg, D. (2011). The Sensory Processing Measure–Preschool (SPM-P)—Part one: Description of the tool and its use in the preschool environment. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, 4(1), 42–52.

Ecker, C., & Parham, L.D. (2010). Sensory Processing Measure–Preschool (SPM-P) Home Form. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.

Hansen, K.D., & Jirikowic, T. (2013). A comparison of the Sensory Profile and Sensory Processing Measure Home Form for children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 33(4), 440-452.

Olson, C.H., Henry, D.A., Kliner, A.P., Kyllo, A., Richter, C.M., Charley, J., Whitcher, M.C., Reinke, K.R., Tysver, C.H., Wagner, L., & Walworth, J. (2016). Effectiveness and usability of the Sensory Processing Measure-Preschool quick tips: Data-driven intervention following the use of the SPM-Preschool in an early childhood, multiple-case study. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, 9(2), 142-162.

Miller Kuhaneck, H., Henry, D.A., & Glennon, T.J. (2010). Sensory Processing Measure–Preschool (SPM-P) School Form. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.

Miller Kuhaneck, H., Ecker, C., Parham, L.D., Henry, D.A., & Glennon, T.J. (2010). Sensory Processing Measure–Preschool (SPM-P): Manual. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.