Sensory Sensitivities and Performance on Sensory Perceptual Tasks in High-functioning Individuals with Autism

Abstract

Despite extensive reports of sensory symptoms in autism, there is little empirical support for their neurological basis. Sixty individuals with high-functioning autism and 61 matched typical comparison participants were administered a sensory questionnaire and standardized neuropsychological tests of elementary and higher cortical sensory perception. Thirty-two per cent of participants with autism endorsed more sensory sensitivity items than any of the participants in the comparison group. On the sensory perceptual exam, both groups made few errors on elementary sensory perception items. Controls made few errors on higher cortical sensory perception items, but 30% of the participants with autism made high numbers of errors, though there was no evidence of the neglect syndrome. There was little correlation between the sensory sensitivities and the sensory perceptual deficits, likely due to the low correspondence between the measures. These results support the common occurrence of disturbances in sensory experiences in high functioning individuals with autism based on first person report, and the presence of neurological abnormalities in higher cortical sensory perception. Keywords autism; sensory sensitivities; sensory perception; sensory neglect The nerve endings on my skin were supersensitive. Stimuli that were insignificant to most people were like Chinese water torture. (Grandin, 1992) When Kanner (1943) and Asperger (1944 andAsperger (1991) first described the condition of autism, each reported inappropriate responses to sensory stimulation among the children they observed. Early clinical accounts described sensory dysfunction as central to the condition (Bergman & Escalona, 1949), and some clinicians continue to hold this view (Talay-Ongan & Wood, 2000). Further, sensory sensitivities and peculiarities have been incorporated as diagnostic features of the syndrome (DeMyer, 1976;Hermelin & O'Connor, 1964;Ornitz, 1989;Rogers, Hepburn, & Wehner, 2003;Wing, 1969). In the most recent revisions to the diagnostic system, clinical features associated with autism include "odd responses to sensory stimuli" (e.g., high pain tolerance, over-sensitivity to sound or touch, and excessive reaction to light or odors) (DSM-IV-TR: American Psychiatric Association, 2000). DeMyer, Hingtgen, and Jackson (1981) NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript significant disturbance in sensory processing" but stated that the underlying mechanism for this disturbance has not been established. In a recently published extensive review of empirical evidence for sensory dysfunction in autism, Rogers and Ozonoff (2005) reported that despite evidence for the prevalence and prominence of sensory symptoms in autism, there is little careful empirical work to support an explanation of the unusual sensory responses often associated with this condition. In addition, empirical information regarding the nature and extent of sensory disturbances within the autism population and potential links between sensory di...

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