Now you can identify sensory processing difficulties in children as young as 2 years of age. This Preschool Edition of the popular Sensory Processing Measure lets you take an early look at overall sensory functioning as well as specific vulnerabilities
that can affect learning.
8 Functional Areas
Appropriate for 2- to 5-year-olds, SPM–P measures the same functions as the SPM:
- Social Participation
- Body Awareness
- Vision
- Balance and Motion
- Hearing
- Planning and Ideas
- Touch
- Total Sensory Systems
Within each sensory system, the SPM–P items also reveal specific problems including under- and over-respons iveness, sensory-seeking behavior, and perceptual problems. In addition, the items provide information on the senses of taste and smell.
The SPM-P includes both a Home Form, completed by the parent, and a School Form, completed by the preschool teacher or day care provider. Each form is composed of 75 items that are rated according to frequency of easily observable behaviors. Used together, the two forms provide a
comprehensive overview of sensory processing, and they allow you to quickly compare the child’s functioning across settings.
Norm-Referenced Standard Scores
The test generates a T-score for each SPM-P scale and characterizes the child’s status in descriptive terms as well (Typical, Some Problems, or Definite Dysfunction). An Environment Difference score alerts you to discrepancies in sensory functioning between home and preschool/day care.
Norms for both the Home and School Forms are based on a representative sample of 651 typically developing 2- to 5-year-olds. They are agestratified to control for developmental differences between younger and older children. Data from a separate group of 242 youngsters--all receiving occupational therapy intervention--demonstrate that SPM-P scales, and items, can differentiate typical children from those with clinical disorders, including autism.
Information That Parents Can Understand
Clinicians are enthusiastic about the SPM-P not only because it generates useful information, but also because it provides that information in a way that parents can understand. Scale names are comprehensible; results are visually summarized; and interpretation is clear-cut. These features makeit easier for therapists to explain test results and engage parents in the
treatment process.
Seamless Assessment From Preschool Through Age 12
Because the SPM-P is based on the same scale structure and theory as the SPM, you can monitor a child’s sensory development from preschool all the way through age 12. This kind of continuity is important when you’re treating children who require long-term follow-up.
Response to Intervention (RTI) and Early Intervention
Both the SPM and SPM-P support the core principles of RTI and can be used for evidence-based practice, scientifically based research, differentiated instruction, and progress monitoring.
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