Sensory Patterns, Obesity, and Physical Activity Participation of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Obesity is a public health concern for the population in general and for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) specifically. The purpose of this study was to understand relationships between sensory patterns, obesity, and physical activity engagement of children with ASD (N = 77) sampled from a specialized community-based swimming program. This retrospective correlational study analyzed program data. Results show that almost half (42.2%) of the children were overweight or obese, and sensory avoiding behaviors were related to higher body mass index (BMI). Children participated in few formal and informal physically active recreation activities. Sensory seeking behaviors were associated with increased participation in informal activities, and higher BMI was associated with less participation in both formal and informal activities. Practitioners should consider sensory processing patterns and BMI when developing community-based programs to promote physical activity of children with ASD.

Relationships between adolescent body mass index, physical activity, and sensory-processing patterns

“…Our findings showed a significant negative relationship between sensory sensitivity and BMI, indicating children with lower thresholds for sensory stimuli had lower BMI. This finding is inconsistent with research reporting that children with avoiding preferences have a higher BMI (Lawson & Foster, 2016) and that there is a weak correlation between adults with sensory-seeking preferences and lower BMI (Kimball, Birstler, Bosse, Nelson, & Woods, 2012). Previous research suggested the relationships between sensory preferences and BMI might be explained by the level of engagement with physical activity.…”

“…Our study's findings were in complete contrast to previous research (Bickham et al, 2013; Ferrar, Chang, Ming, & Olds, 2013), as study participants reported engaging in similar levels of physical activity despite BMI and sensory patterns. Differences may be explained by the study samples, as Lawson and Foster (2016) studied children with autism spectrum disorders, Kimball et al (2012) studied typically developing adolescent and adult women, and our sample comprised healthy, typically developing adolescents. It is also possible the relationship between BMI and sensory patterns is influenced by mediating factors, such as diet (Bohnert et al, 2013;Ferrar, Olds, Maher, & Maddison, 2013;Periwal & Chow, 2006) and sleep patterns (Golley, Maher, Matricciani, & Olds, 2013;Kjeldsen et al, 2013;Miller, Lumeng, & LeBourgeois, 2015).…”

“…Previous literature suggests children and adolescents with sensory-avoiding patterns prefer swimming, possibly due to the consistent pressure water provides the body and the noise buffering of being underwater (Mische Lawson, Foster, Harrington, & Oxley, 2014). Additionally, the repetitive nature of swimming may be a good match for adolescents with sensation-avoiding patterns as they prefer predictable and consistent levels of sensory input (Lawson & Foster, 2016). The significant negative relationship between football and sensory sensitivity may also be explained by the sensory input provided by the activity.…”

Motor learning and transfer between real and virtual environments in young people with autism spectrum disorder: A prospective randomized cross over controlled trial

“…In addition to possible deficits in proprioception, people with ASD demonstrate more variable patterns of functional difficulties and responsiveness to sensory events [Kientz & Dunn, 1997]. This altered sensory processing (auditory, visual, tactile, and movement) is suggested to affect participation in everyday activities including physical activity [Lawson & Foster, 2016;Little, Dean, Tomchek, & Dunn, 2018] and the learning of new concepts [Brown & Dunn, 2010]. Moreover, sensory processing patterns may be associated with preferences for different activities [Ismael, Lawson, & Cox, 2015] and the level of difficulty (considering individual experiences).…”

Prevalence of physical and mental health conditions in Medicare-enrolled, autistic older adults

“…For example, autistic adults in our sample had significantly greater odds of metabolic disorders. Evidence from younger autistic populations suggests that multiple factors increase risk for metabolic disorders including prescription psychotropic drugs (Shedlock et al, 2016), sensory motor challenges that can reduce physical activity (Lawson & Foster, 2016), sensory preferences that can limit food choices (Polfuss et al, 2016), and sleep disturbances (Zuckerman et al, 2014). However, healthcare providers who treat older autistic adults may not be aware of the various factors contributing to obesity in this population, which likely necessitate a specialized approach to weight management.…”