Sensory Processing Measure - Preschool (SPM-P 2)

Title of Assessment 

• Sensory Processing Measure- Preschool (SPM-P)

Author(s) 

• Home form

  •  Diane L. Parham, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA

  • Cheryl Ecker, M.A., OTR/L

• main classroom and school environment forms

  • Heather Miller Kuhaneck, M.S., OTR/L, FAOTA

  • Diana A. Henry, M.S., OTR/L, FAOTA

  • Tara J. Glennon, Ed.D., OTR/L, FAOTA

Year of Publication/Publisher 

•  2017

• Western Psychological Services

Identify Type of Assessment 

•  norm-referenced

• interview-based

Cost (identify source) & How to Access Assessment (include link if possible) 

•  Cannot find the price for the old version but the price for SPM-P 2 is $395.00 for the printed kit and quick tips

• (SPM™-2) Sensory Processing Measure, Second Edition and SPM-2 Quick Tips™ (wpspublish.com) 

Population (who it is appropriate for [age, diagnosis, etc.])  

• 2-5 years old 

• 5-year-olds can use SPM or SPM-2

• Autism

• sensory processing disorders

• typically developing children

Appropriate Settings (potential practice settings appropriate to administer assessment in) 

• Inpatient/Outpatient OT

• School-based

• early intervention (EI)

• Home Health 

Purpose of Assessment & Function(s)/Area(s) Assessed  

•   The purpose of this assessment is to provide caregivers and professionals a picture of how the child taking the assessment processes and integrates sensory stimuli in different environments. This assessment addresses sensory processing challenges and whether they impact a child's behavior. This is helpful for all individuals interacting with the child, treatment planning and further assessment, environmental modifications, and development plans. Areas assessed are:

• home form scales:

  • • social participation

    • vision

    • hearing

    • touch

    • body awareness

    • balance and motion

    • planning and ideas

    • total sensory systems

• classroom form scales

  • • social participation

    • vision

    • hearing

    • touch

    • body awareness

    • balance and motion

    • planning and ideas

    • total sensory systems

• school environment scales

  • • art class

    • music class

    • physical education class

    • recess/playground

    • cafeteria

    • school bus

Administration (time to administer, group/individual, if there are subtests, can they be completed individually, are there specific instructions to ensure standardization, etc.) 

•  The home form takes 15-20 minutes to fill out and should be done in a quiet, well-lit room

• The main classroom form takes 15-20 minutes to fill out

• The school environment form takes less than 5 minutes for each rater to complete the different sections mentioned in the "procedure"

User Qualifications  

• no qualifications required but reading manual and scoring instructions to be able to interpret findings

Materials Required  

• writing utensil

• online or printed forms 

Scoring Procedure (how is assessment scored and what does score indicate)  

•  Forms must have seven or fewer missing responses to complete the scoring of the SPM-P. substitute missing scores with median values.

• Possible answers include never (N), Occasionally (O), Frequently (F), and Always (A). 

• Calculate raw scores for each scale (except total sensory systems) and enter the sum of labeled boxes on the right or left of items. calculate TOT raw score by summing raw scores of vision, hearing, touch, balance, and body awareness plus scores from items 41 and 45. Transfer raw scores to corresponding spaces. Then fill out the profile sheet and use directions to find the T-score and percentile rank. 

Psychometrics/Standardization (norms, reliability/validity studies) 

• home scale

  • • internal consistency .77-.95

    • test-retest .94-.98

• main classroom

  • • internal consistency .75-.95

    • test-retest .95-.98

• school environment

  • • .82-.91

Strengths & Weaknesses of Assessment  

•    strengths

  • provides parents, caregivers, and supervising adults with in-depth knowledge of individual sensory processing and interpretation skills

  • Can be used for a variety of diagnoses and disorders

•  weaknesses

  •  costly

  • Can be difficult for a caregiver to score if they are unfamiliar with the techniques and can't properly interpret instructions

References 

• Sensory processing measure - preschool. Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. (n.d.-c). https://www.sralab.org/rehabilitation-measures/sensory-processing-measure-preschool

• Parham, L.D., Ecker, C., Kuhaneck, H.M., Henry, D.A., & Glennon, T.J. (2007). Sensory Processing Measure [Manual]. Torrance, CA: Western Psychological Services.