Assessment of Sensory Processing Characteristics in Children Between 0 and 14 Years of Age: A Systematic Review

sensory processing disorder (SPD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can negatively affect cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning. Therefore, assessing sensory processing is critical in children. This study aimed to provide a current comprehensive list of assessment instruments special about sensory processing in children aged between 0 and 14 years.

This systematic review focused on pediatric assessment of sensory processing. five electronic databases (Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and ProQuest) were comprehensively searched for eligible studies, and language restriction (English) was applied. The search strategy consisted of keywords and medical subordinate headings for sensory processing and various pediatric assessment tools.

Thirty-four assessment tools were identified, of which nine met the predefined inclusion criteria. The test of ideational praxis, clinical observations of proprioception, and pediatric clinical test of sensory interaction for balance were clinical observational assessment tools. The final tool was a caregiver or teacher reported questionnaire. The obtained studies evaluated the clinical use and psychometric properties of these nine assessment tools.

The result of this study indicated that each of the sensory processing assessment tools considered various aspects of sensory processing. Selecting the most appropriate assessment tools to measure sensory processing function in children depends on specific components of sensory processing that need to be evaluated.