Reducing Listening-Related Stress in School-Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

High levels of stress and anxiety are common in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Within this study of school-aged children (20 male, 6 female) we hypothesised that functional hearing deficits (also pervasive in ASD) could be ameliorated by auditory interventions and that, as a consequence, stress levels would be reduced. The use of Ear-Level Remote Microphone devices and Classroom Amplification systems resulted in significantly improved listening, communication and social interaction and a reduction in physiologic stress levels (salivary cortisol) in both one-on-one and group listening situations.

Stressors experienced by children with autism spectrum disorder in Taiwan: Perspectives of children and their parents

“…All children experience stressors of daily life and socializing. However, children with ASD might have increased sensitivity to these stressors due to higher levels of comorbid anxiety and poorer adaptability, social skills, communication skills (van Steensel et al, ), and sensory hypersensitivity (Rance, Chisari, Saunders, & Rault, ; Rogers & Ozonoff, ) than typically‐developing children. Our findings regarding emotional responses resulting from sensory hypersensitivity are supported by other studies on emotional awareness and ASD (Silani et al, ; Thaler et al, ).…”

Anxiety in Children with Autism at School: a Systematic Review

“…Poon (2012) reports significantly higher scores on the DBC-T anxiety subscale in children with autism than in those with multiple disabilities (p<.001). The other study (Rance et al, 2017) reported teacher scores prepost intervention.…”

“…The majority (81.2%) of studies were observational studies, with the remaining six being intervention studies. Three of the intervention studies were school-based cognitive behavioural therapy (Clarke, Hill & Charman, 2017;Drmic, Aljunied & Reaven, 2017;Luxford, Hadwin & Kovshoff, 2017), one was cognitive-behavioural therapy with some school-based sessions (Fujii et al, 2013), one was a clinic-based cognitive behavioural therapy study (Ooi et al, 2014), and one explored an intervention to reduce listening-related stress and anxiety in the classroom (Rance, Chisari, Saunders & Rault, 2017).…”

“…The average percentage of males across all of the included studies was 86.5%, which is an approximate ratio of 6:1 males:females. The samples were all male in five of the included studies (Clarke et al, 2017;Guttman-Steinmetz et al, 2010;Matsushima et al, 2008, Rance et al, 2017Roohi et al, 2009), and five studies (Fujii et al, 2013;Hurtig et al, 2009;Ooi et al, 2014;Pearson et al, 2012;Poon, 2012) reported a ratio reflective of the current reported ratio of males:females in autism (3:1; see Loomes, Hull & Mandy, 2017).…”

“…Four studies(Ashburner, Ziviani, & Rodger, 2010;Hass, Brown, Brady & Johnson, 2012;Poon, 2012;Rance et al, 2017) only reported teacher data. Three of these studies compared teacher ratings for autism with either typically developing children or children with multiple disabilities.…”