Ottawa-Carleton, ON

Screening Tool: Sensory Processing Problems

This survey is designed to provide a quick assessment of whether you show signs and symptoms of sensory processing problems. However, no test is 100% accurate. No matter what your score is, you should seek help if you have any concerns about yourself or your loved ones.

 

Have you noticed any of the following...

1. Was unusually fussy, difficult to console, or easily startled as an infant?
2. Has difficulty regulating sleep/wake cycles --settling for sleep, staying asleep, and waking without irritability
3. Is over-sensitive to stimulation--over-reacts to touch, taste, sounds, or odors
4. Strongly dislikes baths, haircuts, or nail cutting (i.e. touch sensitivity)
5. Uses an inappropriate amount of force when handling objects, coloring, writing, or interacting with siblings or pets (i.e. poor registration)
6. Has poor muscle tone, fatigues easily, leans on people, or slumps in a chair
7. Was slow to roll over, creep, sit, stand, or walk, or to achieve other motor milestones
8. Is clumsy, falls frequently, bumps into furniture or people, and has trouble judging position of body in relation to surrounding space
9. Has difficulty learning new motor tasks; experiences frustration when attempting to follow instructions or sequence steps for an activity
10. Avoids playground activities, physical education class, and/or sports
11. Does not enjoy age-appropriate motor activities such as jumping, swinging, climbing, drawing, cutting, assembling puzzles, or writing
12. Finds it difficult to make friends with peers; prefers to play with adults or younger children

This is a screening scale based on common symptoms seen in (Regulatory)-Sensory Processing Problems, but note that this screening scale is not yet officially validated. There do exist well documented, validated instruments for Sensory Processing (e.g. Sensory Profile by Dunn), but these are much longer and detailed, and are best used by professionals rather than the general public.