scholarly journals A co-twin-control study of altered sensory processing in autism

Autism ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 136236132199125
Author(s):  
Janina Neufeld ◽  
Mark J Taylor ◽  
Karl Lundin Remnélius ◽  
Johan Isaksson ◽  
Paul Lichtenstein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Psychiatric Diagnoses ◽  
Sensory Sensitivity ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder is associated with sensory processing alterations, such as sensory hyper- and hypo-responsiveness. Twin studies are scarce in this field, but they are necessary in order to disentangle the genetic and environmental contributions to this association. Furthermore, it is unclear how different neurodevelopmental/psychiatric conditions contribute to altering sensory processing. We investigated the association between autistic traits/autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and sensory processing alterations in twins ( N = 269), using the adult/adolescent sensory profile, which differentiates four sub-domains: Low Registration, Sensation Seeking, Sensory Sensitivity, and Sensation Avoiding. While the associations between autistic traits and Low Registration and Sensation Avoiding persisted within monozygotic (genetically identical) twins, Sensory Sensitivity was only associated with autistic traits within dizygotic twins. In multivariate analyses with different neurodevelopmental/psychiatric diagnoses as predictor variables, autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were the strongest predictors for two adult/adolescent sensory profile sub-domains each. The results suggest that the association between autistic traits and Sensory Sensitivity is influenced by genetics while non-shared environmental factors influence the associations between autistic traits and Low Registration and Sensation Avoiding. They further indicate that altered sensory processing is not specific to autism spectrum disorder, while autism spectrum disorder is a strong predictor of certain sensory processing alterations, even when controlling for other (comorbid) neurodevelopmental/psychiatric conditions. Lay abstract Individuals diagnosed with autism often describe that they process sensory information differently from others, and many experience sensory issues as problematic. For instance, an increased sensitivity to smells or sounds can make participating in social settings challenging. While sensory issues are now part of the diagnostic criteria for autism, they also co-occur with other psychiatric diagnoses such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety disorders. It is unclear to what extent the relationship between autism and alterations in sensory processing are due to genetics or environment. In addition, more research is needed on how autism, as compared to other diagnoses, is associated with sensory issues. Using a twin study, we found that genetic factors influenced self-reported reactivity to sensory stimuli in autism while environmental factors influenced other sensory issues (e.g. difficulties in detecting or differentiating sensory input). Hence, sensory hyper-reactivity might be an early onset core feature of autism, while other domains of alterations in sensory processing might develop later, influenced by the environment. Moreover, autism was more strongly associated with sensory issues related to increased sensitivity/reactivity as compared to other psychiatric diagnoses. However, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was more strongly related to deficits in detecting/differentiating sensory stimuli and with an increased drive to seek sensory input. Our results indicate that sensory issues are not specific to autism, but that some aspects of altered sensory processing are more relevant for autism than for other diagnoses.

scholarly journals Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder diagnoses as ideal types: A reinterpretation of stigma within the context of mainstream education

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-99
Author(s):  
Henrik Skovlund
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Psychiatric Diagnoses ◽  
Educational Strategies ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
State Schools ◽  
Theoretical Standpoint

Children with psychiatric diagnoses such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder/attention-deficit disorder and autism spectrum disorder have often been the topic of heated debate between those who favour the view that the global increase in children who receive these diagnoses is the result of pathologizing and stigmatizing discourses and those who favour the view that attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder are neurodevelopmental disabilities. This conflict leaves the field divided with regard to which educational strategies teachers and education workers should use with these children in mainstream educational contexts. The core of the problem is the extent to which such diagnoses may be considered a help or stigma in the ongoing quest to include these children in state schools on the same footing as every other child. This article approaches this dilemma from a different theoretical standpoint than those that have guided criticism of psychiatric diagnoses since the rise of anti-psychiatry. The consequence of this theoretical standpoint is that both the idea of the relationship between diagnoses and stigma, and the concept of stigma itself, must be altered when seeking to provide fruitful educational strategies for these children in mainstream educational settings such as state schools.

scholarly journals Behavioural and neural markers of tactile sensory processing in infants at elevated likelihood of autism spectrum disorder and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Serena Piccardi ◽  
◽  
Jannath Begum Ali ◽  
Emily J. H. Jones ◽  
Luke Mason ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Repetition Suppression ◽  
Neural Markers ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Backgrounds Atypicalities in tactile processing are reported in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) but it remains unknown if they precede and associate with the traits of these disorders emerging in childhood. We investigated behavioural and neural markers of tactile sensory processing in infants at elevated likelihood of ASD and/or ADHD compared to infants at typical likelihood of the disorders. Further, we assessed the specificity of associations between infant markers and later ASD or ADHD traits. Methods Ninety-one 10-month-old infants participated in the study (n = 44 infants at elevated likelihood of ASD; n = 20 infants at elevated likelihood of ADHD; n = 9 infants at elevated likelihood of ASD and ADHD; n = 18 infants at typical likelihood of the disorders). Behavioural and EEG responses to pairs of tactile stimuli were experimentally recorded and concurrent parental reports of tactile responsiveness were collected. ASD and ADHD traits were measured at 24 months through standardized assessment (ADOS-2) and parental report (ECBQ), respectively. Results There was no effect of infants’ likelihood status on behavioural markers of tactile sensory processing. Conversely, increased ASD likelihood associated with reduced neural repetition suppression to tactile input. Reduced neural repetition suppression at 10 months significantly predicted ASD (but not ADHD) traits at 24 months across the entire sample. Elevated tactile sensory seeking at 10 months moderated the relationship between early reduced neural repetition suppression and later ASD traits. Conclusions Reduced tactile neural repetition suppression is an early marker of later ASD traits in infants at elevated likelihood of ASD or ADHD, suggesting that a common pathway to later ASD traits exists despite different familial backgrounds. Elevated tactile sensory seeking may act as a protective factor, mitigating the relationship between early tactile neural repetition suppression and later ASD traits.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Autism Spectrum Disorder

2020 ◽  
pp. 158-176
Author(s):  
Karen Bearss ◽  
Aaron J. Kaat
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Developmental Trajectory ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Adhd Symptoms ◽  
Functional Impairments ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Delayed Recognition

This chapter will review the available evidence on individuals with co-occurring diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This chapter contends that children diagnosed with both disorders (ASD+ADHD) are a subset of the ASD population that is at risk for delayed recognition of their ASD diagnosis, poor treatment response, and poorer functional outcomes compared to those with ASD without ADHD. Specifically, the chapter highlights the best estimates of the prevalence of the comorbidity, the developmental trajectory of people with co-occurring ASD and ADHD, how ADHD symptoms change across development, overlapping genetic and neurobiological risk factors, psychometrics of ADHD diagnostic instruments in an ASD population, neuropsychological and functional impairments associated with co-occurring ASD and ADHD, and the current state of evidence-based treatment for both ASD and ADHD symptoms. Finally, the chapter discusses fruitful avenues of research for improving understanding of this high-risk comorbidity so that mechanism-to-treatment pathways for ADHD in children with ASD can be better developed.

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