Sensory assessment tools

Where sensory processing challenges are suggested in a person's presentation to mental health services, there is a need to use appropriate measures to better understand the nature of the individual's sensory processing patterns, preferences, and needs. Valid and reliable assessment of sensory processing and sensory modulation is an important aspect of both research and evidence-based clinical practice. In this chapter, the reasons we might use sensory processing assessments, and a range of factors that inform selection of the most appropriate assessment tool(s) for our purposes, are considered. A wide range of tools presently available for measuring sensory processing in adolescents and adults, including self-reports, caregiver reports, and observational assessments, are then presented. The practitioner needs to be aware of the purpose of conducting the assessment, the range of assessments available, and the psychometric properties of these, to facilitate selection of the best measure for the desired purpose.