The early development of autistic children

The purpose of the present study was to re-examine diagnostic data from a state-wide autism prevalence study (n = 489) conducted in the 1980s to investigate the impact of broader diagnostic criteria on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) case status. Sixty-four (59 %) of the 108 originally "Diagnosed Not Autistic" met the current ASD case definition. The average IQ estimate in the newly identified group (IQ = 35.58; SD = 23.01) was significantly lower than in the original group (IQ = 56.19 SD = 21.21; t = 5.75; p < .0001). Today's diagnostic criteria applied to participants ascertained in the 1980s identified more cases of autism with intellectual disability. The current analysis puts this historic work into context and highlights differences in ascertainment between epidemiological studies performed decades ago and those of today.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autism Spectrum Disorder Reclassified: A Second Look at the 1980s Utah/UCLA Autism Epidemiologic Study

Miller

Bilder

Farley

et al. 2012

“…Parent and caregiver questionnaires have often been used to study sensory reactivity in individuals with autism, and these consistently confirm elevated rates of sensory problems in toddlers (Rogers, Hepburn, & Wehner, 2003), preschool children (Ornitz, Guthrie, & Farley, 1977) and children of school age (Kientz & Dunn, 1997), as well as in adults (Harrison & Hare, 2004) and across the life-span (Kern et al, 2006). Rogers et al (2003) administered a questionnaire -the Short Sensory Profile -to parents of toddlers who either had autism, fragile X syndrome, developmental disorders of mixed etiology, or who were typically developing.…”

Section: Parent Reportmentioning

confidence: 98%

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

Minshew

Hobson

2008

115

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...

“…These early reports were later corroborated and extended by numerous clinical and parental reports as well as accounts from persons with autism of unusually intense attention to or avoidance of sensory stimuli from all the modalities (Grandin, 1992;Cesaroni & Garber, 1991;O'Neill & Jones, 1997;Williams, 1994). The first theories of the causes of atypical behaviours among persons with autism were based on observations of hypo-or hyper-arousal (Hutt et al, 1964) and unusual reactions to sensory input (Kootz, Marinelli, & Cohen, 1982;Ornitz, 1974;Ornitz, Guthrie, & Farley, 1977), as well as evidence of atypical attentional, physiological, and neurological responses to sensory tasks among persons with autism (Hermelin & O'Connor, 1970;Hutt et al, 1964;Ornitz, 1974). Similarly, many of the current theories of autism reflect the theme that sensory atypicalities are core symptoms of autism and have downstream effects on the development of the perceptual system in persons with autism (Bertone et al, in press;Happe´, 2005;Mottron & Burack, 2001;Just et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensory Integration and the Perceptual Experience of Persons with Autism

Iarocci

McDonald

2006

311

196

Research studies on sensory issues in autism, including those based on questionnaires, autobiographical accounts, retrospective video observations and early experimental approaches are reviewed in terms of their strengths and limitations. We present a cognitive neuroscience theoretical perspective on multisensory integration and propose that this may be a useful way of conceptualizing and studying sensory integration and the perceptual experience of persons with autism. Our goal is to operationalize the concept of sensory integration, a notion that is frequently alluded to in the field of autism yet rarely defined in empirical terms. We conclude with a discussion of how this re-conceptualization and study of sensory integration may generate testable hypotheses and lead to refinements in current perceptual theories of autism.