Activity Participation and Sensory Features Among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Sensory features are highly prevalent among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and have been shown to cluster into four patterns of response, including hyperresponsiveness, hyporesponsiveness, enhanced perception, and sensory interests, repetitions and seeking behaviors. Given the lack of large-scale research on the differential effects of sensory response patterns on children's participation in specific activities, this study investigated the extent to which sensory response patterns impacted six dimensions of children's activity participation as measured by the Home and Community Activities Scale among a large, national sample of school aged children with ASD (n = 674). Using mixed model regression, results showed that sensory response patterns differentially impacted dimensions of activity participation, and associations were moderated by a number of child characteristics.

Can sharing education between home and school benefit the child with autism?

“…Four of the parents report differences in sensory processing in their children (DN, SS, GE, and TE) and, although 216 it is not identified specifically by CY, her son Coby makes report of sensory issues in his mini-interview. These findings are in line with current research which suggests the impact of sensory processing differences in autism (for example, Bogdashina 2001Bogdashina , 2016Little et al, 2015;Ausderau et al, 2014). and the active addressing of ways to decrease sensory sensitivities is identified as one of the homeschooling goals by Hurlbutt (2011).…”

“…Understanding of this element of autism is not new; sensory symptoms featured in the original descriptions of autism (Asperger, 1944;Kanner, 1943), and were further explored by Wing (1979), and Hermelin and O'Connor (1970). However, awareness of the part that sensory 22 differences play in the difficulties experience by pupils with autism in school has increased during this century, not least through eloquent accounts written by people with autism (for example, Grandin, 2000;Jackson, 2002;Williams, 1998) and discussed in a range of research (for example, Bogdashina 2001Bogdashina , 2016Jones et al, 2003;Little et al, 2015;Ausderau et al, 2014).…”

“…Proposition 1: Shared education may address issues of sensory processing differences in the autistic child (for example, Wing, 1979;Hermelin and O'Connor, 1970;Jones, Quigney & Huws, 2003;Iarocci & McDonald, 2006;Leekam et al, 2007;Grandin, 2000;Jackson, 2002;Williams, 1998;Bogdashina 2001Bogdashina , 2016Jones et al, 2003;Little et al, 2015;Ausderau et al, 2014).…”

Feasibility Exploration of Electrodermal Response to Food in Children with ASD Compared to Typically Developing Children

“…SS has been linked to underachievement in the academic setting due to attentional difficulties (Ashburner, Ziviani, & Rodger, 2008). There is a strong correlation between SOR and symptoms of anxiety (Lane, Reynolds, & Dumenci, 2012) and taken together, SOR and anxiety may lead to decreased participation in social and leisure activities outside of the home for children with ASD (Little, Ausderau, Sideris, & Baranek, 2015). In addition, it appears that the SOR pattern of disordered modulation has particular relevance to the understanding of food selectivity.…”

Using a Multifaceted Approach to Working With Children Who Have Differences in Sensory Processing and Integration

“…Importantly, differences in sensory processing and integration have been shown to affect participation in meaningful childhood tasks including play with friends, performance at school, and engagement in family activities (Armstrong, Redman-Bentley, & Wardell, 2013;Cosbey, Johnston, & Dunn, 2010;Cosbey, Johnston, Dunn, & Bauman, 2012;Davis et al, 2013;Little, Ausderau, Sideris, & Baranek, 2015;Reynolds, Bendixen, Lawrence, & Lane, 2011;Shochat, Tzischinsky, & Engel-Yeger, 2009). Occupational therapists are recognized as the experts in assessment and intervention for children who have differences in sensory processing and integration.…”