Developmental Risk Signals as a Screening Tool for Early Identification of Sensory Processing Disorders

Abstract

The main purpose of this research was to determine if the indicators of risk included in the Indicators of Developmental Risk Signals (INDIPCD-R) could differentiate between children at risk of sensory processing disorders (SPDs) from those with normal development and if the SPD indicators correlated with a delay or altered development. A retrospective, descriptive, correlational design was used with a sample of 51 children, 36 referred because of clinical sensory processing indicators and 15 with non-clinical indicators. Participants were assessed with a developmental scale Revised Profile of Developmental Behaviors (PCD-R), the Sensory Profile, play and clinical observations. The INDIPCD-R showed a high correlation with developmental areas of PCD-R and a sensitivity and specificity of 100%, when compared with the Sensory Profile. T-test results for independent samples showed significant differences at p≤0.01 level between the children with SPD indicators and those with no clinical signs in the PCD-R. The Mann-Whitney U-test was conducted for unpaired samples, to verify if there were significant differences between children with apparent SPD indicators and children with no apparent difficulties. The Spearman's rho was used to identify the correlations between the INDIPCD-R, with different areas of development. This study supports the use of the INDIPCD-R as a screening instrument that could be used by occupational therapists to discriminate children with and without indicators of SPD. The limitation of this study was that it did not cover all the ages of the INDIPCD-R. Additional studies are required to determine the utility of this instrument for outcome studies and whether it is valid and reliable to identify children at risk of different pathologies. The INDIPCD-R is a low-cost instrument that allows the occupational therapist to make a quick review of the different components that could be involved in SPD and therefore guide the more in-depth evaluation if necessary.