Assessments of early childhood praxis used in Sensory Integration: a scoping review

The brain continuously receives sensory information from different parts of the body and the environment, producing appropriate motor and and behavioral responses that enable the body to learn to move and act functionally. However, when this process does not occur harmoniously, Sensory Integration dysfunctions may arise, including dyspraxia, which refers to difficulty in planning and executing intentional motor actions. This study aims to identify which instruments have been used to assess praxis from the perspective of Sensory Integration, the age groups covered, and to identify assessment instruments for children under three years of age. This is a scoping review, in which the search terms were: “sensory integration and children”, “sensory integration” and “sensorimotor performance”, “sensory integration test and praxis”, and “sensory integration assessment and babies”. The searches were conducted in the PubMed, Web of Science, BVS, Scopus, and CAPES databases. Ninety-five articles were included, identifying 33 instruments used in sensory integration assessment, of which 16 included the assessment of praxis or praxis-related components. Three assessment instruments for children under 36 months of age were identified: one indirect measure instrument and two direct measure instruments intended for the assessment of praxis in young children, both with a minimum application age above one year. Although there are praxis assessment instruments for early childhood, there is an important gap in direct assessment measures for children younger than 36 months, indicating the need for specific instruments for this population.