Sensory Profiles in School-Age Children with Developmental Language Disorder

Simpson, Kate; Paynter, Jessica; Ziegenfusz, Shaun; Westerveld, Marleen F.

doi:10.1080/1034912x.2020.1740186

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Additional examination of the sensory modulation symptoms that may be common across autism and other neurodevelopment conditions would also identify those behaviors with greatest discriminative power. For example, Simpson et al (2020) reported that sensitivity to noise was elevated in children with Developmental Language Disorder. This suggests that there may be sensory modulation profiles that extend across conditions.…”

Section: Cluster Differencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of sensory modulation by age and sex in young people on the autism spectrum

et al. 2022

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Sensory modulation symptoms form a diagnostic criterion for autism spectrum disorder and are associated with significant daily functional limitations. Utilizing caregiver report on Short Sensory Profile‐2 (SSP‐2) for 919 autistic children (3–14.11 years), we examined the expression of sensory modulation symptoms by age and sex and investigated the existence of specific sensory modulation subtypes. Sensory modulation symptoms appeared to peak in frequency during middle childhood, particularly in sensory sensitivity and avoidance. Symptoms associated with sensory hypo‐reactivity and seeking tended not differ between age cohorts. Males and females demonstrated similar overall sensory modulation profiles, however, females showed elevated symptoms relating to sensory sensitivity. Model‐based cluster analysis revealed five interpretable sensory modulation subtypes which related to symptom severity (low, mid‐range, high). Subtypes demonstrating mid‐range symptom severity differed in focus on sensory hyper‐reactivity or seeking symptoms. The findings of this study report for the first time that age‐related differences in sensory modulation symptoms may be associated with sensory hyper‐reactivity only. The subtyping results also suggest that sensory modulation symptom severity is a reliable means of classifying variance within autistic children, however, consideration of differences in the behavioral strategies employed by individuals to manage sensory modulation symptoms may inform tailored supportive strategies. Lay Summary We studied sensory symptoms such as over‐responding, under‐responding and sensation seeking behaviors in 919 autistic children and adolescents. We found that 6–12‐year‐olds and females displayed the most sensory over‐responding symptoms. Autistic children could be grouped into mild, moderate, and severe levels of sensory symptoms, however, children differed in the type of strategies used to cope with their sensory symptoms meaning that they may require different intervention approaches.

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Section: Cluster Differencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of sensory modulation by age and sex in young people on the autism spectrum

et al. 2022

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“…Although omitted from the survey contents, the description of sensory sensitivity within our qualitative sample provides early context to other emerging work of children with DLD [ 121 ]. In children with other, more well-researched, NDDs [ 18 ], heightened sensory sensitivity has been suggested to both exacerbate social and separation anxiety [ 122 ], as well as provide some relief through calming strategies [ 123 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the prevalence and manifestation of anxiety and other socio-emotional and behavioural difficulties in children with Developmental Language Disorder

Burnley

Clair

Bedford

et al. 2023

J Neurodevelop Disord

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Background It is well-documented that children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) have a higher likelihood of experiencing anxiety, as well as other socio-emotional and behavioural (SEB) difficulties. Despite this, there is little consensus as to how these difficulties manifest. This study aims to understand the prevalence of broader SEB difficulties and anxiety, informing intervention development by understanding the relationships between them. Methods A mixed-methods, case–control study was conducted. First, an online survey was completed by 107 parents of either children with DLD (“DLD sample”; n = 57) or typically developing children (“typical sample”; n = 50), aged 6–12 years old. Binary SEB statements informed by previous qualitative work (e.g. “my child requires routine/sameness”; “my child has frequent tantrums”) provided an insight into the prevalence of SEB difficulties in both DLD and typical samples. Validated measures of anxiety, emotion regulation, intolerance of uncertainty, insistence on sameness, family stress and coping mechanisms were also collected. Correlation and mediation analyses were run using these validated measures to understand the manifestation of anxiety in children with DLD in more detail. Qualitative interviews were then carried out with a select panel of survey respondents (n = 4). Results The DLD sample scored significantly higher on all binary SEB statements than the typical sample: experiencing anxiety (80.7%, p < .05), requiring routine and sameness (75.4%, p < .001) and emotional dysregulation (75.4%; p < .001) were the most common difficulties reported for children with DLD. Using the validated scales, family stress and coping mechanisms were found to only correlate with the manifestation of anxiety in the typical group, not the DLD group. “Intolerance of uncertainty” and “insistence on sameness” were found to fully mediate the relationship between DLD diagnosis and symptoms of anxiety. Parent’s interviews provided contextual support for the analysis, as well as highlighting sensory sensitivities as a focus for future research. Conclusions Parents of children with DLD appear to cope well with their children’s complex SEB needs. Intervention focussing on intolerance of uncertainty may help the management of difficulties with anxiety. Behaviours such as insistence on sameness should be investigated further, as potential indicators for anxiety amongst children with DLD.

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“…It is understandable that the communication di culties characteristic of DLD may well lead to feeling out of control of one's environment; for example, the increased di culties with using self-talk could limit their ability to process information about their surroundings or prepare for activities (110,111). Furthermore, speech and language therapists have described organisational and memory di culties in many children with DLD (112); their language di culties mean they may be less able to store additional information to help reassure them of upcoming uncertainty. Therefore, controlling their own environment through enforcing routine and sameness may be the most straightforward approach to managing their anxiety and frustration.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The DLD population is recognised to be heterogenous (145), making it imperative that the individuals within any sample are con rmed to not just represent a speci c subgroup. Nonetheless, it is this heterogeneity that renders uniform assessment challenging, with a general consensus lacking amongst professionals regarding the best method for assessing DLD (112). Nonetheless, this is still an improvement on much of the DLD literature, which cites 'children with a history of DLD' (e.g.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the prevalence and manifestation of the anxiety and social difficulties experienced by children with Developmental Language Disorder.

Burnley

Clair

Bedford

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background It is well-documented that children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) experience socio-emotional difficulties. Despite this, there is little consensus as to how these difficulties manifest. This study aims to understand their prevalence, and inform intervention development by understanding the relationships between them. Methods A mixed-methods, case-control study was conducted. First, an online survey was completed by 107 parents of either children with DLD (‘DLD sample’; n = 57), or typically developing children (‘typical sample’; n = 50), aged 6–12 years old. The online survey comprised of standardised psychosocial measures, binary psychosocial statements (generated from previous qualitative work) and both family stress and coping mechanisms. Two separate mediation models were run to understand the underlying mechanisms behind (1) anxiety, and (2) social frustration; separate correlation analyses were used to determine the relationships between other psychosocial and familial variables. Qualitative interviews were then carried out with a small subset of the survey respondents (n = 4). Results The DLD sample scored significantly higher on all psychosocial statements than the typical sample. Experiencing anxiety (80.7%, p < 0.05), requiring routine and sameness (75.4%, p < 0.001) and emotional dysregulation (75.4%; p < 0.001) were the most common difficulties for children with DLD. Family stress and coping mechanisms only correlated with the manifestation of psychosocial difficulties in the typical group, not the DLD group. ‘Intolerance of uncertainty’ was found to fully mediate the relationship between DLD diagnosis and symptoms of anxiety. Emotion regulation was found to moderately mediate the relationship between DLD diagnosis and social frustration. Conclusions Parents appear to cope well with their children’s complex psychosocial needs. Intervention focussing on intolerance of uncertainty and emotion dysregulation may help the management of psychosocial difficulties. Further research is needed to understand the children’s preference for routine.

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Sensory Profiles in School-Age Children with Developmental Language Disorder

Cited by 8 publications

References 29 publications

Patterns of sensory modulation by age and sex in young people on the autism spectrum

Patterns of sensory modulation by age and sex in young people on the autism spectrum

Understanding the prevalence and manifestation of anxiety and other socio-emotional and behavioural difficulties in children with Developmental Language Disorder

Understanding the prevalence and manifestation of the anxiety and social difficulties experienced by children with Developmental Language Disorder.

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