Sensory Integration Education

June 2021 Update

At Sensory Integration Education we have been keenly following the development of new assessment tools in Sensory Integration, in order to provide our students with up-to-date, evidence-based training materials. This year, the SOSI-M and the SPM-2 have both been published. The SP-3D and EASI tests are both still being developed and are currently both at the data collection phase. Further information about the SP-3D can be found here. Further information about the EASI is below. 

What is the EASI?

The Evaluation in Ayres Sensory Integration Test (EASI), is a new assessment for the clinical evaluation of Sensory Integration and related functions in children aged 3–12 years. On the Ayres 2020 vision webpage it is described as follows:

“The purpose of the Evaluation in Ayres Sensory Integration (EASI) is to provide a valid and reliable tool for assessing key sensory integration functions that underlie learning, behavior, and participation. The EASI measures sensory perception, sensory responsiveness, postural/ocular/bilateral integration, and praxis, in a manner that minimizes the influences or culture, language comprehension, and prior experience. The initial development plan for the EASI is to collect international normative data on children 3-12 years of age. The long-range plan is to expand the items and normative sample so that the EASI can be used to assess sensory integration across the lifespan, in a free and accessible format” 

The aims of the EASI were clearly outlined by Dr Zoe Mailloux in Sensory Integration Network UK & Ireland’s publication, SensorNet No. 50; Summer 2017 (SensorNet_50_1_.pdf), and these are to: 

•  Assess all the key constructs of ASI 
•  Ensure minimal influence of language, culture, or experience 
•  Provide free or low-cost access, open-source materials 
•  Ensure that tests are highly discriminative 
•  Allow for comprehensive yet feasible assessment in one to one and a half hours • Achieve standardisation in 100 countries 
•  Focus initially on ages 3-12 years (with younger and older ages looked at later)

Is it ready for use? 

At present, the EASI is at the International Normative Data Collection stage, which is stage four out of five, of its development. This relates to establishing norms and the goal has been to get a large, randomised, international sample worldwide. Here at SIE, we are committed to supporting the development of this assessment. Four of our team (Lelanie Brewer, Rosalind Rogers, Cathy Maguire and Dr Greg Kelly) trained as EASI testers and Cathy and Lelanie were able to contribute to the normative data collection in England before COVID-19 restrictions meant that the data collection needed to be paused. SIE has also sponsored 10 EASI 3D pieces kits for other UK testing teams to use. Some preliminary normative data and scoring for the EASI are expected to be available in September/October this year but the wider global data-gathering phase is likely to last until the end of 2021 or beyond. 

The next planned stage, stage five, relates to the publication and dissemination of the EASI sub-tests, with a dedicated website where one’s test scores are inputted to produce a final analysis. The target for this was 2020, however, there have been understandable delays to this stage. As yet, there is no official release date for the final EASI test. It is likely this will now be in 2022. If you wish to undertake EASI training during the stage 4 phase of the EASI project, this can only currently be accessed through the CLASI collaborative https://www.cl-asi.org/international as the pilot tests are still subject to change and not finalised. So, training has not been opened up to other groups yet. 

Is EASI training included in the SIE SI Practitioner Pathway? 

Our main focus for the pathway is to equip you with the clinical reasoning and critical thinking skills to recognise SI difficulties and challenges and assess your clients confidently and effectively, using currently available assessment tools. We want you to develop skills in selecting the right SI tests for the individuals with whom you work and be able to collate, analyse, synthesise and interpret data comprehensively and confidently from a wide variety of sources. 

Until the data collection phase of the EASI project is completed and the data is analysed and interpreted, the reliability and validity of the individual test items cannot be confirmed and therefore, the test cannot be finalised. It may be that some aspects of the pilot test items will need revising or may even be excluded. This information is not yet available. 

When the EASI is finalised and we have more details about how the EASI training is going to be rolled out beyond the CLASI collaborative, we will share this with you.