The Impact of the Presence of Intellectual Disabilities on Sensory Processing and Behavioral Outcomes Among Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders: a Systematic Review

Abstract

Background Autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability (ID) are linked to atypical sensory processing, but consensus lacks on the impact of their co-occurrence. We studied the impact of the presence of ID in autistic individuals on (1) sensory processing and (2) the relation between sensory processing and behavioral outcomes. Methods A systematic review was performed on English-language peer-reviewed studies. Results Eleven papers were included. Papers based on overall and sensory subscales reported no impact of the presence of ID. Papers based on subtypes reported hyporesponsiveness and sensory seeking related to the presence of ID; hyporesponsiveness showed the poorest behavioral outcomes. Conclusions Findings regarding the impact of the presence of ID are contradictory. More research regarding sensory subtypes is needed to investigate the needs of autistic individuals with ID.

Characterizing Sensory Phenotypes of Subgroups with a Known Genetic Etiology Pertaining to Diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability

“…Individuals with an ID diagnosis exhibited poor registration and increased seeking behaviors. The extant literature on sensory processing in ASD and co-occurring ID includes contradictory findings (see review: Werkman et al, 2022 ). For instance, a prior study conflicted with the current results, such that there were no differences in either registration or seeking quadrants between ASD with ID diagnoses versus ID diagnosis alone, but there were differences to the other two quadrants (Joosten & Bundy, 2010 ).…”