Tl. Jirikowic et al., THE TEST OF SENSORY FUNCTIONS IN INFANTS - TEST-RETEST RELIABILITY FOR INFANTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS, The American journal of occupational therapy, 51(9), 1997, pp. 733-738
Objective. The Test of Sensory Functions in Infants (TSFI) is one tool
that occupational therapists use to identify sensory processing disor
ders among infants. However, data on the reliability of TSFI scores wi
th infants with developmental delays are lacking. Method. Test-retest
reliabilities for TSFI total test and subtest scores were determined w
ith a sample of 26 infants with developmental delays. All infants were
between 10 months and 18 months of age. The test-retest interval rang
ed from 5 days to 10 days. Magnitudes of difference between test and r
etest scores and percentages of agreement among the TSFI classificatio
n categories (i.e., normal, at-risk, deficient) also were determined t
o examine relationships between test scores. Results. Reliability for
the total test score was borderline, with an intraclass correlation co
efficient of .78. Reliability coefficients for the five subtests range
d from .54 to .74. Percentage of agreement for the total test classifi
cation categories between test and retest was adequate (81%). Percenta
ges of agreement for subtest classification categories were low, rangi
ng from 58% to 68%. Conclusion. TSFI scores should be interpreted caut
iously and used only in conjunction with findings from additional deve
lopmental assessments and clinical observations for infants with devel
opmental delays.