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A Step By Step Guide
For SPD Parents:
The Seven Steps For Helping
Your SPD Child
Step Five
The Evaluation
The testing process is quite involved if done properly, as it should be!
Testing should involve multiple disciplines (for input at the least), but can be
done by one qualified professional such as an Occupational Therapist. It can be
done within an early intervention program, school system, teaching hospital,
children's hospital or at a special clinic that diagnoses and treats Sensory
Processing Disorders.
The following components should be included if possible:
interviews and questionnaires for the child, family, teachers, other people
or professionals who interact with the child to guide testing and decide whether
further evaluation is necessary (the questionnaires will be based on overall
functioning, developmental milestones, and behavioral indicators of sensory
dysfunction)
perform standardized tests and non-standardized tests with the child in a
sensory/testing room which will include performing gross motor, fine motor, oral
motor, and visual perception tasks, making observations regarding all sensory
systems and developmental milestones, as well as reactions to (and processing
of) oral, auditory, vestibular, proprioceptive, olfactory, tactile input, and
performance of tasks.
the OT will then score and evaluate all findings, deciding which, if any,
sensory systems are significantly impacted, and if so, how much, when, and why.
a meeting with the parents, and child (if appropriate), to report all
results, concerns, and specifics of testing outcomes, and educate all those
present on sensory processing disorders as it relates to their child.
agree on a plan; if the child will have treatment, how much, how often, what
the treatment will entail, any home or school programs, etc.
the therapist will then write and agree on goals/treatment with parents
and/or child.
Remember this...
A good, thorough, proper diagnosis ALWAYS includes a questionnaire (or
several). Generally speaking, the parents fill the questionnaire out, however, a
child over 7 (or so) can be the one who "answers the questions" too. But,
usually, the parent/teacher/professional fills it out, with or without the
child's input, and the person testing the individual will ask the child further
questions based on this questionnaire. So, technically, the child plays a pretty
"active role" in the questionnaire process, but unless the child is of the
teenage years (and that is not a be-all-and-end-all age requirement), someone
else usually fills it out. There are adolescent and adult questionnaires
designed specifically for that individual to fill out. When appropriate, we use
them.
It will take many pairs of eyes and they should all be involved in the
"questionnaire" or interviewing/gathering information process! We all see
different things, and children act differently in different settings (especially
kids with Sensory Processing Disorder!) based on many
situational/contextual/environmental factors. The other thing to remember, is we
are trying to identify these children as early as possible, so most of them are
too young to fill a questionnaire out anyway. Sometimes, I had kids fill one out
in addition to the parents to compare two different experiences and
perspectives. It is very different living with it, and living WITH it!
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