Toward Early Identification of Sensory Over-Responsivity (SOR)

Abstract

Sensory over-responsivity (SOR) is a type of sensory modulation disorder in which heightened sensitivity to non-noxious sensations interrupts daily life. In this preliminary study within a larger investigation, we used infants with sleep/feeding difficulties as a proxy for later development of SOR. We tested evidence for construct validity and internal reliability of pre- and perinatal factors that, together, could predict infant sleep/feeding difficulties. We obtained retrospective data on 360 mother–infant dyads on 38 pre- and perinatal variables and linked the data with infant referral for sleep/feeding difficulties. We analyzed the data with Rasch analysis to examine evidence for a unidimensional construct. Our results show good evidence for a construct comprising 18 of the 38 pre- and perinatal variables examined. This construct may represent a step toward early identification of SOR and provide therapists with evidence to support the use of pre- and perinatal information as predictors of infant sleep/feeding difficulties.