Some aspects of sensory disfunction in young people with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

Sensory dysfunction is characterized by difficulty in receiving, processing, and integrating sensory stimuli, resulting in an unusual response to sensory stimulations. An altered sensory reactivity is observed in a large number of people with autism spectrum disorder. The aims of this study were to determine: a) the relationship between the severity of autistic disorder and sensory dysfunctions; b) the relationship between different sensory modalities; c) the relationship between age and functioning on sensory modalities; d) the modalities in which respondents have the most pronounced sensory dysfunctions. The sample included 60 participants with autism spectrum disorder, aged 11 to 26. The adolescent and adult sensory profile (The Adolescent / Adult Sensory Profile, Brown & Dunn, 2002) was used to measure sensory responses of the subjects. For the purposes of determining the severity of autistic disorder, a PDD-MRS scale was used (Pervasive Developmental Disorder Mental Retardation Scale, PDD-MRS, Kraijer & de Bildt, 2005). The results obtained show that in young people with autism spectrum disorder there is no statistically significant relationship between the severity of autistic disorder and the sensory dysfunction. Almost all sensory modalities were mutually correlated significantly. Significant correlations were missing between the participants` age and the altered sensory responses. The results show that subjects achieved significantly higher scores on the Activity Engagement subscale compared with all other subscales, which leads us to conclude that the participants from our sample had the most difficulty in adjusting their activity level to the demands of everyday situations. These findings have significant practical implications, both on the planning and realization of sensory interventions in these individuals, as well as on the need to harmonize the characteristics of the environment in which they reside, the tasks delegated to them, and their sensory specifcities.