SENSORY ADVENTURE MEASUREMENT (SAM) – A NEW TOOL FOR ASSESSING SMD

Background: The most commonly used tools to investigate Sensory Modulation Disorder (SMD) are self-reported questionnaires. The aim of this presentation is to present a new clinical outcome measure for direct assessment of... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
The most commonly used tools to investigate Sensory Modulation Disorder (SMD) are self-reported questionnaires. The aim of this presentation is to present a new clinical outcome measure for direct assessment of children's reactions to sensory stimuli.

Theoretical underpinning
Individuals with SMD do not react to sensory stimuli with the same intensity, frequency and magnitude as others. These responses are expressed either as over- or under-responsiveness or as sensory seeking to any or all types of sensory stimuli.

Assessment / Intervention/ Technique:
The Sensory Adventure Measurement (SAM) comprise 13 sensory stimuli from different sensory systems. Two scores are stemmed from the measure; power, the intensity of response to the sensory stimuli, and child's report.
Evaluation of outcome:
Inter rater reliability was established with average acceptance of 86% for level of intensity (Power). Test-retest reliability was assessed in a pilot study of 18 typically developed children who tested twice within a week. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient results ranged from 0.70 to 0.97, exhibiting very good agreement. Internal consistency reliability for the SAM total power score is satisfactory (0.70). Criterion validity was established by computing correlation between SAM total power score and the Sensory Profile total score (r=.536,p<.05). Discriminate validity analysis will be presented at the time of the presentation.
Application to practice:
A clinical direct reliable and valid outcome measure, in addition to the existing parental questionnaires, will enable clinicians and researcher to better detect SMD and thus to implement intervention adequately.