The Test of Sensory Functions in Infants: Test-Retest Reliability for Infants With Developmental Delays

The Test of Sensory Functions in Infants (TSFI) is one tool that occupational therapists use to identify sensory processing disorders among infants. However, data on the reliability of TSFI scores with infants with developmental delays are lacking.Test-retest reliabilities for TSFI total test and subtest scores were determined with a sample of 26 infants with developmental delays. All infants were between 10 months and 18 months of age. The test-retest interval ranged from 5 days to 10 days. Magnitudes of difference between test and retest scores and percentages of agreement among the TSFI classification categories (i.e., normal, at-risk, deficient) also were determined to examine relationships between test scores.Reliability for the total test score was borderline, with an intraclass correlation coefficient of .78. Reliability coefficients for the five subtests ranged from .54 to .74. Percentage of agreement for the total test classification categories between test and retest was adequate (81%). Percentages of agreement for subtest classification categories were low, ranging from 58% to 68%.TSFI scores should be interpreted cautiously and used only in conjunction with findings from additional developmental assessments and clinical observations for infants with developmental delays.