Exploration of Relationships among Clinical Gastrointestinal Indicators and Social and Sensory Symptom Severity in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are associated with co-morbidities such as gastrointestinal (GI) symptomatology, which in the absence of known causes are potential indicators of gut microbiota that may influence behavior. This study’s purpose was to explore relationships among clinical GI indicators—diet, abdominal pain, and stool status—and ASD symptom severity, specifically social and sensory symptoms. Participants were 33 children with ASD, 3 to 16 years. The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2) and the Child Sensory Profile Scale (CSP-2) were used to appraise social and sensory symptomatology. Significant difference was found in overall SRS-2, t(31) = −3.220, p = 0.003 when compared by abdominal pain status using independent samples t-tests. Significant difference was observed for overall CSP-2, t(31) = −2.441, p = 0.021, when grouped by stool. The three clinical GI variables predicted overall SRS-2 score using multiple linear regression, F(3, 32) = 3.257, p = 0.036; coefficient for abdominal pain significantly contributed to the outcome. Findings contribute to the growing literature signaling the need to understand occurrence of GI symptomatology more deeply, and in consideration of diet status and its implications in the children’s everyday lives, behaviors, and symptom severity.