Suicidality is a common and concerning issue across development, and there is a plethora of research on this topic among typically developing children and youth. Very little is known, however, about the nature of suicidality among individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The purpose of the current study was to undertake a systematic literature review to assess the current state of the research literature to examine the prevalence of suicidality among individuals with ASD, related demographic and clinical profiles, and associated risk and protective factors. A literature search using key terms related to suicidality and ASD yielded 10 topical studies that were evaluated for the study objectives. Suicidality was present in 10.9-50% of the ASD samples identified in the systematic review. Further, several large-scale studies found that individuals with ASD comprised 7.3-15% of suicidal populations, a substantial subgroup. Risk factors were identified and included peer victimization, behavioral problems, being Black or Hispanic, being male, lower socioeconomic status, and lower level of education. Only one study reported on protective factors, and this is identified as a significant gap in the literature. Several methodological weaknesses were present in the current literature, such as lack of appropriate comparison groups and little to no use of empirically validated measures for ASD diagnosis and suicide assessment. Additional research is necessary to understand better how this unique population experiences and expresses suicidal tendencies. Recommendations for future research are discussed.

No abstract

It has been recently theorized that atypical sensory processing in autism relates to difficulties in social communication. Through a series of tasks concurrently assessing multisensory temporal processes, multisensory integration and speech perception in 76 children with and without autism, we provide the first behavioral evidence of such a link. Temporal processing abilities in children with autism contributed to impairments in speech perception. This relationship was significantly mediated by their abilities to integrate social information across auditory and visual modalities. These data describe the cascading impact of sensory abilities in autism, whereby temporal processing impacts multisensory information of social information, which, in turn, contributes to deficits in speech perception. These relationships were found to be specific to autism, specific to multisensory but not unisensory integration, and specific to the processing of social information.

A growing area of interest and relevance in the study of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) focuses on the relationship between multisensory temporal function and the behavioral, perceptual, and cognitive impairments observed in ASD. Atypical sensory processing is becoming increasingly recognized as a core component of autism, with evidence of atypical processing across a number of sensory modalities. These deviations from typical processing underscore the value of interpreting ASD within a multisensory framework. Furthermore, converging evidence illustrates that these differences in audiovisual processing may be specifically related to temporal processing. This review seeks to bridge the connection between temporal processing and audiovisual perception, and to elaborate on emerging data showing differences in audiovisual temporal function in autism. We also discuss the consequence of such changes, the specific impact on the processing of different classes of audiovisual stimuli (e.g. speech vs. nonspeech, etc.), and the presumptive brain processes and networks underlying audiovisual temporal integration. Finally, possible downstream behavioral implications, and possible remediation strategies are outlined. Autism Res 2016, 9: 720-738. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Sensory hypersensitivity and insistence on sameness (I/S) are common, co-occurring features of autism, yet the relationship between them is poorly understood. This study assessed the impact of sensory hypersensitivity on the clinical symptoms of specific phobia, separation anxiety, social anxiety and I/S for autistic and typically developing (TD) children. Parents of 79 children completed questionnaires on their child's difficulties related to sensory processing, I/S, and anxiety. Results demonstrated that sensory hypersensitivity mediated 67% of the relationship between symptoms of specific phobia and I/S and 57% of the relationship between separation anxiety and I/S. No relationship was observed between sensory hypersensitivity and social anxiety. These mediation effects of sensory hypersensitivity were found only in autistic children, not in TD children.