Development of the Classroom Sensory Environment Assessment (CSEA)

Headnote

MeSH TERMS

* child development disorders, pervasive

* environment

* environment design

* physical stimulation

* schools

* sensation

The Classroom SensoryEnvironment Assessment(CSEA)is atool that providesameansof understanding the impact of a classroom's sensory environment on student behavior. The purpose of the CSEA is to promote collaboration between occupational therapists and elementary education teachers. In particular, students with autism spectrum disorder included in general education classrooms may benefit from a suitable match created through this collaborative process between the sensory environment and their unique sensory preferences. The development of the CSEA has occurred in multiple stages over 2 yr. This article reports on descriptive results for 152 classrooms and initial reliability results. Descriptive information suggests that classrooms are environments with an enormous variety of sensory experiences that can be quantified. Visual experiences are most frequent. The tool has adequate internal consistency but requires further investigation of interrater reliability and validity.

Current models of occupational therapy practice advocate for consideration of the environment in relation to a person's occupational performance (American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 2014). The classroom is an important practice environment because 19.9% of occupational therapists work in the public schools (AOTA, 2015a). The increase in the prevalence of autism suggests that many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are being educated in the public schools (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014). These children have high rates of sensory processing difficulties (Marco, Hinkley, Hill, & Nagarajan, 2011) and may therefore require sensory environments that meet their needs to enable them to learn effectively. Teachers must create these learning environments in their classroom but may feel ill equipped to understand the needs of children with ASD (Barnhill, Polloway, & Sumutka, 2011; Morrier, Hess, & Helfin, 2011). This article describes the development of a tool to assist therapists and teachers in systematically gathering and then discussing information about the classroom sensory environment, developed in particular for the inclusion of children with ASD.

Literature Review

Need for Environmental Assessment for Classrooms

Our national practice standards require the consideration of the impact of the environment on a client's functioning, stating

an occupational therapist . . . evaluates the client's ability to participate in daily life by considering the client's history, goals, capacities, and needs; the activities...