The Sensory Observation Autism Rating Scale (SOAR): Developed using the PROMIS® framework.
SOAR is a fast, reliable way to spot sensory red flags in autistic toddlers during everyday play.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team built a new 37-item checklist called SOAR. It tracks sensory behaviors in autistic toddlers while they play naturally.
No extra toys or lights. Two observers watched the kids during free play at home or clinic. They rated things like hand-flapping, sniffing objects, or covering ears.
What they found
Inter-rater reliability was excellent. ICC values ranged from 0.87 to 0.99 across all items.
The scale also showed ecological validity. Scores matched what parents reported on longer questionnaires.
How this fits with other research
Kraijer et al. (2005) created the 15-item PDD-MRS for anyone with mental retardation. SOAR narrows the lens to toddlers and sensory signs, updating that idea for 2023.
Peñuelas-Calvo et al. (2019) meta-analysis found eye-reading tests miss the mark in ASD. SOAR sidesteps language demands by watching behavior instead of asking questions.
Rosenthal et al. (1980) showed autistic kids had low heart-rate responses to sounds. SOAR now gives you a quick way to spot those same low-reaction patterns without wires.
Why it matters
You can finish SOAR in 10 minutes during regular play. Use it to decide if a child needs a full sensory evaluation or to track changes before and after intervention. No extra equipment, no tables—just watch, score, and act.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Autistic people experience the sensory world differently, impacting behavior. First-hand accounts and group-based research have found that sensory differences impact a range of things including family life, anxiety, participation, and daily living. Early sensory differences are widely reported to be associated with a cascade of developmental difference, suggesting that early autism diagnosis and sensory mapping could enable the provision of supports to facilitate flourishing. However, appropriate measurement tools are not available as all rely on proxy report or are observation measures which include limited modalities or domains and require the administration of stimuli. Therefore, following the gold-standard recommendations for measurement development outlined by the PROMIS® framework, we created the Sensory Observation Autism Rating scale (SOAR). We identified sensory behaviors across all primary domains and modalities through an extensive autism-sensory literature review and from focus groups with autism stakeholders. The initial item bank was then refined by an expert panel and through video coding five-minutes of free play from Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule assessments of 105 age- and gender-matched autistic and developmentally delayed children (aged 13-36 months; 38 female). An additional 25% of the sample were double coded to investigate interrater reliability. Observational data and expert review supported the reduction of the item bank to 37 items. We propose that the refined SOAR has excellent face and ecological validity, along with interrater reliability (Intraclass correlation = 0.87-0.99). Following further data collection and refinement, SOAR has promise to fully characterize sensory behaviors in autistic children and indicate useful supports.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2023 · doi:10.1002/aur.2881