Tactile sensitivity: development of a behavioral responses checklist.

Tactile defensiveness or sensitivity to being touched is a phenomenon observed by therapists during clinical testing and is reported based only on subjective data. The purpose of this study was to develop a more objective means of identifying this phenomenon. Videotaped observations of five-year-old boys being administered the Southern California Kinesthesia and Tactile Perception Test battery were used to identify behavioral reactions indicative of sensitivity to tactile stimulation. The population tested for a wide range of behaviors included hyperactive and normal five-year-old boys. These reactions were defined and categorized into a checklist of tactile-sensitive behaviroal responses. This checklist was then used on videotapes of 10 five-year-old boys by two raters to establish a measure of the reliability of this method of observing and recording behaviors. A reliability of .89 agreement with consensus was reached. These behavioral categories offer objective guides in identifying children with tactile defensiveness or sensitivity to tactile stimulation.