Sensory Overresponsivity as a Predictor of Amplitude Discrimination Performance in Youth with ASD

McKernan, Elizabeth P.; Wu, Ying Tien; Russo, Natalie

doi:10.1007/s10803-019-04013-0

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…A small number of studies have reported higher amplitude discrimination thresholds in older autistic children (> 6 years of age) compared to their neurotypical peers (McKernan et al, 2020;Puts et al, 2014Puts et al, , 2017. Our study extends this literature by demonstrating that higher amplitude discrimination thresholds (both sequential and simultaneous) are already present at a younger age in autism.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Atypical Tactile Perception in Early Childhood Autism

Espenhahn

Godfrey

Kaur

et al. 2022

J Autism Dev Disord

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We assessed different aspects of tactile perception in young children (3–6 years) with autism. Autistic and neurotypical children completed vibrotactile tasks assessing reaction time, amplitude discrimination (sequential and simultaneous) and temporal discrimination (temporal order judgment and duration discrimination). Autistic children had elevated and more variable reaction times, suggesting slower perceptual-motor processing speed and/or greater distractibility. Children with autism also showed higher amplitude discrimination and temporal order judgement thresholds compared to neurotypical children. Tactile perceptual metrics did not associate with social or tactile sensitivities measured by parent-reports. Altered tactile behavioral responses appear in early childhood, can be quantified but appear dissociated from sensitivity. This implies these measures are complementary, but not necessarily related, phenomena of atypical tactile perception in autism.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Atypical Tactile Perception in Early Childhood Autism

Espenhahn

Godfrey

Kaur

et al. 2022

J Autism Dev Disord

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“…The Sensory Pro le is a 125-item questionnaire completed by a parent that measures the extent to which sensory processing contributes to children's behavior. While not a speci c scale on the Sensory Pro le, based on the work of others 38 we calculated a sensory overresponsivity composite from the sum of 14 items that capture tactile sensitivity, auditory ltering, and visual/auditory sensitivity (see McKernan et al 11 for speci c items). Items were reverse scored, such that higher scores indicate more sensory overresponsivity.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Evidence is beginning to suggest that perception may be related to sensory differences in autism. In one example, McKernan et al 11 found that sensory overresponsivity, de ned by atypical responses to sensory stimulation that may include very rapid and intense responses, or prolonged and lasting responses 12 , predicted enhancements in tactile discrimination in autistic individuals. However, whether this nding extends to different sensory modalities (e.g., audition) and measurement types (e.g., neurophysiology) is unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studying differences in neurological sensory processing at the group level, and analyzing individual differences within and across groups as they relate to behavioral indices of autism and sensory processing is key to uncovering broader developmental principles that tie sensation, perception, and autistic features together irrespective of diagnostic label 46 . Here, we take a step towards this goal by correlating electrophysiological measurements of sensory perception with parent-reports of children's autistic traits, measured by the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), and sensory overresponsivity using a subset of relevant items from the Sensory Pro le 11,38 . Our aims are to (1) determine if there are differences in ERP markers of habituation and early and late discrimination between autistic and TD children that are matched on age and IQ, (2) determine how autistic traits and sensory overresponsivity relate to early and late neurophysiological indicators of discrimination and habituation, and (3) investigate the relationships between ERP components of discrimination and habituation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Timing is everything: Early and late neural measures of auditory habituation and discrimination in autism and their relationship to autistic traits and sensory overresponsivity

Cary

Pacheco

Kaplan‐Kahn

et al. 2021

Preprint

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BackgroundSensory differences are included in the DSM-5 criteria of autism for the first time, yet it is unclear how sensory behaviors are related to neural indicators of perception. We sought to disentangle this complex relationship by studying early brain signatures of perception using event-related potentials (ERPs) and examining their relationship to sensory overresponsivity and autistic traits.MethodsThirteen autistic children and 13 Typically Developing (TD) children matched on chronological age and nonverbal IQ participated in a passive oddball task, in which P1 habituation and P1 and MMN discrimination were evoked by pure tones. ERPs were compared between groups, and correlations were conducted between ERPs and autistic traits and sensory features.ResultsAutistic children had marginally enhanced neural discrimination and reduced habituation to auditory stimuli compared to the TD group. Better P1 and MMN discrimination and lower P1 habituation corresponded with more autistic traits. Further, the MMN component, but not P1 components, mapped on to sensory overresponsivity.LimitationsStimuli in the oddball paradigm were not counterbalanced in their presentation as standards or deviants, and participants were not directly asked about their reactions to the auditory stimuli, which would be advantageous in determining whether appraisal of stimuli moderates neural response. The sample size is small and warrants replication.ConclusionsSignificant correlations between auditory ERP components and autistic traits, even when group differences were not present, suggests benefits to taking a more dimensional approach to autism than using strictly categorical methods. Our findings highlight the significance of temporal and contextual factors in neural information processing as it relates to autistic traits and sensory behaviors.

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“…Oversensitivity or overresponsivity to a specific sensory input can affect a "child's willingness to play, explore, and feel safe or comfortable in his environment." McKernan et al (2020) found that over-responsivity can predict amplitude discrimination in addition to the effect of adaptation for young people with ASD. This is often termed sensory defensiveness, as the child will defend themselves with a behavioral or emotional response, such as avoiding exposure to the sensory input.…”

Section: Auditory Sensory Processing Disorder and How It Affects Chil...mentioning

confidence: 98%

Hearing aid solutions for children with autism

Saigh¹

2022

Int. j. adv. appl. sci.

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Children with the autistic spectral disorder (ASD) have difficulty processing sensory inputs, especially auditory inputs. There have been a number of technological solutions that have developed based on different approaches in the form of hearing devices, however, limitations include the inability to successfully allow, through whitelisting, important sounds such as fire alarms and the sounds of cars and car horns. This paper proposes a hearing device supported by an application as a solution for children with ASD, the device is based on blacklisting and whitelisting features that allow for a reduction in auditory input through a selective process and contributes to selectivity through whitelisting for safety purposes. The proposed device will reduce distraction associated with hyper-responsiveness to certain auditory inputs, such as those from teachers or working group members, and increase concentration in the child by having fewer distractions.

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Sensory Overresponsivity as a Predictor of Amplitude Discrimination Performance in Youth with ASD

Cited by 10 publications

References 45 publications

Atypical Tactile Perception in Early Childhood Autism

Atypical Tactile Perception in Early Childhood Autism

Timing is everything: Early and late neural measures of auditory habituation and discrimination in autism and their relationship to autistic traits and sensory overresponsivity

Hearing aid solutions for children with autism

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