Novel Parent Survey Measures Sensory Behaviors Incorporating Sensory Modality and Stimulus Intensity

Objective: Sensory behaviors are common clinically relevant features of many neurodevelopmental disorders including Autism. However, existing assessments critically lack granularity in evaluating hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity, particularly in relation to stimulus intensity. We address this gap by developing the Sensory Response Questionnaire Phenotyper (SRQP), a parent questionnaire that comprehensively assesses sensory behaviors across five sensory modalities. Here we report the development of the SRQP, validation against established tools and assessment of its effectiveness in identifying nuanced sensory processing patterns in children with Autism.Methods: A convenience sample of 317 participants (57 with Autism, 260 typically developing) aged 3-17 years were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. The SRQP’s psychometric properties were analyzed using classical test theory (CTT), and item response theory (IRT). Statistical tests were used to evaluate patterns of sensory processing from SRQP results.Results: Data from 271 participants were included. The SRQP demonstrated strong psychometric properties: a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis identified 37 as the cut-off value for most accurately distinguishing between typical and atypical responses on the SRQP (sensitivity 0.75, specificity 0.79, AUC 0.87). Total but not modality-specific hyper vs hyposensitivity scores were moderately correlated (ρ = .5). Responses to high-intensity stimuli were not correlated with responses to low-intensity stimuli for auditory, visual, taste, or tactile hyposensitivity (ρ < .4).Conclusion: The SRQP is a new validated parent questionnaire to assess multi-dimensional properties of sensory behaviors. Stimulus intensity is an important parameter of sensory behaviors that should be accounted for in future models.