Comparison of abnormal sensory symptoms in children with and without autism spectrum disorder.

Objective: To compare the abnormal sensory symptoms in children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Method: This case-control study was conducted at the department of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital and Institute of Child Health, Multan, Pakistan from January, 2024 to June, 2024. Inclusion criteria for cases were children of either, aged 5-12 years, diagnosed with ASD, and accompanying at least one of the parents. For controls, children visiting outpatient department of pediatrics were included. The study utilized standardized sensory assessment tools "Sensory Profile" to evaluate sensory processing abnormalities in both groups.

Results: In a total of 128 children, 85 (66.4%) were male. The mean age was 8.2±2.4 years, ranging between 5-12 years. In terms of sensory profiles, children with ASD exhibited significantly higher rates of abnormal sensory symptoms across all domains compared to non-ASD children (p<0.001). In the auditory domain, hyperresponsiveness was prevalent in 43.8% of ASD children versus 7.8% in non-ASD children (p<0.001). For tactile, visual, and proprioceptive domains, similar patterns were observed where significantly higher proportions of children with ASD were affected (p<0.001). In the visual and proprioceptive domains, ASD children consistently demonstrated significantly elevated rates of hyperresponsiveness, hyporesponsiveness, and sensory-seeking behaviors compared to non-ASD children (p<0.001).

Conclusion: The high prevalence of hyperresponsiveness, hyporesponsiveness, and sensory-seeking behaviors across sensory domains in ASD children raises the requirement for comprehensive sensory assessments and individualized interventions.