scholarly journals The relationship between sensory reactivity, intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety subtypes in preschool-age autistic children

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keren MacLennan ◽  
Timothy Rossow ◽  
Teresa Tavassoli
Keyword(s):  
Separation Anxiety ◽  
Intolerance Of Uncertainty ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Parent Report ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Preschool Age ◽  
Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Sensory Reactivity ◽  
Sensory Hyperreactivity

Sensory reactivity differences are a diagnostic criterion in autism spectrum conditions. Sensory hyperreactivity has been linked to intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and anxiety in autistic children. However, research is yet to explore the mediating relationships or sensory hyporeactivity, seeking, and anxiety subtypes in preschool-age autistic children. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the relationships between sensory reactivity, IU and anxiety subtypes in a heterogeneous group of 54 preschool-age autistic children, age 3-6 years, using a range of observational and parent-report assessments. Correlational analysis found sensory hyperreactivity, IU and anxiety subtypes, including generalised anxiety, social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, physical injury fears, and separation anxiety, were significantly intercorrelated. Neither sensory hyporeactivity or seeking were significantly related to IU or anxiety subtypes. Serial mediation analyses indicated significant full mediation between sensory hyperreactivity and anxiety through IU, and significant full mediation between sensory hyperreactivity and IU through anxiety in preschool-age autistic children.Our results therefore suggest that theoretical models of anxiety in autism should consider sensory hyperreactivity as a predictive factor for anxiety, and supports that IU is an important interrelated construct in the development and maintenance of anxiety. Our findings have important implications for understanding anxiety and related symptoms in autistic children, which can inform the development of effective interventions. However, due to limitations with the measures, our research also highlights a pressing need for objective assessments of anxiety and IU that can be used with preschool-age autistic children.

scholarly journals The relationship between sensory reactivity, intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety subtypes in preschool-age autistic children

Autism ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 136236132110161
Author(s):  
Keren MacLennan ◽  
Timothy Rossow ◽  
Teresa Tavassoli
Keyword(s):  
Separation Anxiety ◽  
Intolerance Of Uncertainty ◽  
Parent Report ◽  
Preschool Age ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Sensory Reactivity ◽  
Mediation Analyses ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Development Of Anxiety ◽  
Sensory Hyperreactivity

Sensory reactivity differences are a diagnostic criterion of autism. Sensory hyperreactivity has been linked to intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety in autistic children. However, research is yet to explore the mediating relationships or sensory hyporeactivity, seeking and anxiety subtypes in preschool-age autistic children. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the relationships between sensory reactivity, intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety subtypes in a heterogeneous group of 54 preschool-age autistic children, age 3–5 years, using observation and parent-report assessments. Correlational analysis found sensory hyperreactivity, intolerance of uncertainty and total anxiety were significantly intercorrelated. In addition, sensory hyperreactivity was significantly correlated with separation anxiety when controlling for autism traits. Serial mediation analyses indicated significant full mediation between sensory hyperreactivity and anxiety through intolerance of uncertainty, and significant full mediation between sensory hyperreactivity and intolerance of uncertainty through anxiety. Our results suggest that sensory hyperreactivity is a key early factor in the development of anxiety, and supports that intolerance of uncertainty is an important interrelated construct in the development and maintenance of anxiety in autism. Our findings have important implications for the development of effective interventions. However, due to limitations with the measures, our research also highlights a pressing need for objective assessments of anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty that can be used with preschool-age autistic children. Lay abstract This study found links between greater sensory hyperreactivity (e.g., over-sensitive to sensory input), intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety, including separation anxiety, in autistic pre-schoolers. Sensory hyperreactivity may predict both anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty, and anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty may both be mutually important, mediating factors. These findings have implications for early anxiety interventions. But there is a pressing need for objective assessments that can be used with preschool-age autistic children.

scholarly journals The relationship between sensory reactivity differences and mental health symptoms in preschool-age autistic children

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Rossow ◽  
Keren MacLennan ◽  
Teresa Tavassoli
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Preschool Age ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Sensory Reactivity ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Preschool Aged Children

There is growing evidence for an association between sensory reactivity and mental health in autism. This study set out to explore the relationship between sensory reactivity and mental health in pre-school aged autistic children. In total 54 preschool-aged children with an Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) took part. Sensory and mental health symptoms were obtained from the Sensory Processing Scale Inventory, Sensory Assessment of Neurodevelopmental Differences and the Behavioural Assessment System for Children – 3. Correlational analyses showed a relationship between sensory reactivity and mental health symptoms in autistic preschool-aged children. Results also indicate divergence in sensory-mental health profiles between autistic preschool-aged children who are verbal and those who use few to no words. For the first time this study has revealed a relationship between sensory hyper-reactivity, as well as sensory seeking, and mental health symptoms outside of anxiety in autism. Of note, this relationship between sensory hyper-reactivity and internalising symptoms appears to be driven by those with few to no words. This has implications for both research and clinical interventions, in particular for our understanding of the factors underlying mental health symptoms in different autistic phenotypes, as well as the possible role of functional communication in mitigating the development of mental health symptoms

Improving visual perspective-taking performance in children with autism spectrum conditions: Effects of embodied self-rotation and object-based mental rotation strategies

Autism ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 136236132094935
Author(s):  
Pingping Ni ◽  
Lingfeng Xue ◽  
Jiajing Cai ◽  
Minjie Wen ◽  
Jie He
Keyword(s):  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽  
Visual Perspective ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Visual Perspective Taking ◽  
Object Based ◽  
Embodied Self ◽  
Rotation Strategy

Visual perspective-taking is the ability to perceive the world from another person’s perspective, and research on visual perspective-taking ability in children with autism spectrum conditions yielded inconsistent results. To solve a visual perspective-taking task, people can mentally rotate themselves to another person’s location (embodied self-rotation strategy) or else rotate the object toward themselves (object-based mental rotation strategy). Previous interventions for autistic individuals have mainly focused on embodied self-rotation strategy, the visual perspective-taking mechanism in neurotypicals. This study examined the effects of both embodied self-rotation and object-based mental rotation strategies in improving visual perspective-taking performance in 34 autistic children and 34 ability-matched neurotypical children. All children completed three tasks: one measuring baseline visual perspective-taking performance, while the other two measuring visual perspective-taking performance after instructions in embodied self-rotation and object-based mental rotation strategies. The results indicated that autistic children had difficulty in baseline visual perspective-taking tasks. After a brief strategy learning period, autistic children benefited similarly from both embodied self-rotation and object-based mental rotation instructions, suggesting that there are various possible ways to improving autistic children’s perspective taking, and that further interventions for autistic children could consider combining different strategies that better suit their autistic traits. Lay abstract When answering how the same object might appear to others in different locations, people can provide answers by mentally putting themselves into another person’s location using the embodied self-rotation strategy or by rotating the target object toward themselves using the object-based mental rotation strategy. In this study, after learning the embodied self-rotation or object-based mental rotation strategies, autistic children improved their visual perspective-taking performance, which is believed to be impaired or delayed in autistic individuals. We recruited 34 autistic children and an equal number of ability-matched typical children and examined their visual perspective-taking performance at baseline and after learning the embodied self-rotation and object-based mental rotation strategies. As previous visual perspective-taking and other social cognition interventions for autistic individuals have primarily focused on the embodied self-rotation strategy, showing moderate effectiveness and limited generalizability, we explored the effects of both embodied self-rotation and object-based mental rotation strategies for improving perspective-taking performance and discussed their implications in this study. The results showed that autistic children had a lower performance at baseline compared with typical children; however, they were still sensitive to both embodied self-rotation and object-based mental rotation strategies. Unlike typical children, who gained more from the embodied self-rotation strategy, autistic children benefited similarly from the two strategies. This suggests that there are multiple ways to helping autistic children overcome their difficulty in perspective-taking tasks. Future interventions for autistic children could consider combining various strategies that better suit their autistic traits.

scholarly journals Sensory reactivity, empathizing and systemizing in autism spectrum conditions and sensory processing disorder

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 72-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Tavassoli ◽  
Lucy Jane Miller ◽  
Sarah A. Schoen ◽  
Jennifer Jo Brout ◽  
Jillian Sullivan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽  
Sensory Processing Disorder ◽  
Sensory Reactivity

scholarly journals Temporal resolution relates to sensory hyperreactivity independently of stimulus detection sensitivity in individuals with autism spectrum disorder

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayako Yaguchi ◽  
Takeshi Atsumi ◽  
Reiko Fukatsu ◽  
Masakazu Ide
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Temporal Resolution ◽  
Temporal Summation ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
High Temporal Resolution ◽  
Sensory Reactivity ◽  
Stimulus Detection ◽  
Sensory Hyperreactivity

AbstractBackgroundResearchers have been focused on perceptual characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in terms of sensory hyperreactivity. Previously, we demonstrated that temporal resolution, which is the accuracy in differentiating the order of two successive vibrotactile stimuli, is associated with the severity of sensory hyperreactivity (Ide et al. 2019). Herein, we examined whether an increase in the perceptual intensity of a tactile stimulus, despite its short duration, is derived from high temporal resolution and a high frequency of sensory temporal summation.MethodSixteen participants with ASD and fifteen typically developing (TD) participants performed two psychophysical experimental tasks, and we evaluated the detectable duration of vibrotactile stimuli with the same amplitude and temporal resolution. Sensory hyperreactivity was estimated using a self-reported questionnaire.ResultsThere was no relationship between temporal resolution and the duration of detectable stimuli in either group. However, the ASD group showed more severe sensory hyperreactivity in daily life than the TD group did, and ASD participants with severe sensory hyperreactivity tended to have high temporal resolution but not high sensitivity for detectable duration.ConclusionContrary to our hypothesis, there might be different processing between temporal resolution and sensitivity for stimulus detection. Sensory reactivity in daily life would not be based on sensitivity for stimulus detection measured in an experimental task, and we suggest that atypical temporal processing would affect sensory reactivity in ASD. Keywords (within 6 keywords): Temporal resolution, Temporal summation, Autism spectrum disorder, Hyperreactivity, Gap detection

scholarly journals Non-verbal IQ and change in restricted and repetitive behaviors throughout childhood in autism: A longitudinal study using the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valérie Courchesne ◽  
Rachael Bedford ◽  
Andrew Pickles ◽  
Eric Duku ◽  
Connor Kerns ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parent Report ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Diagnostic Interview ◽  
Repetitive Behaviors ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Circumscribed Interests ◽  
Verbal Iq ◽  
Restricted And Repetitive Behaviors ◽  
Autism Diagnostic Interview ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Background: Restricted and repetitive behaviors are one of the characteristic features of Autism Spectrum Disorder. This domain of symptoms includes a broad range of behaviors. There is a need to study each behavior individually to better understand the role they each have in the development of autistic children. Moreover, there are currently no longitudinal studies investigating change in these behaviors over development. Methods: The goal of the present study was to explore the association between age and non-verbal IQ (NVIQ) on 15 RRB symptoms included in the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) over time. A total of 205 children with ASD were assessed using the ADI-R at time of diagnosis, at age 6 years, and at age 11 years, and with the addition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children – Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) at age 8 years.Results: The proportion of children showing each RRB tended to diminish with increasing age (p < 0.001), except for sensitivity to noise and circumscribed interests, where the proportion increased over time. Although there was no significant main effect of NVIQ (p = 0.101), there was a significant interaction between age and NVIQ (p < 0.01). This was mainly driven by Difficulties with change in routine, for which higher NVIQ was associated with the prevalence of the behavior remaining relatively stable with age, while lower NVIQ was associated with the behavior becoming more prevalent with age.Limitations: The study focused on the presence/absence of each RRB but did not account for potential changes in frequency or severity of the behaviors over development. Furthermore, some limitations are inherent to the measures used. The ADI-R relies on parent-report and hence has some level of subjectivity, while the Wechsler intelligence scales can underestimate the intellectual abilities of some autistic children.Conclusions: These results confirm that specific RRBs are differentially linked to age and NVIQ. Studying RRBs individually is a promising approach to better understand how RRBs change over the development of autistic children and are linked to other developmental domains.

scholarly journals Brief Report: The Broad Autism Phenotype in Swedish Parents of Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Conditions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Bang ◽  
Maria Strömberg ◽  
Shoba S. Meera ◽  
Kajsa Igelström
Keyword(s):  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Genetic Load ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Broad Autism Phenotype ◽  
Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽  
Pragmatic Language ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Autistic People ◽  
Autism Phenotype

AbstractThe broad autism phenotype (BAP) is a set of characteristics often observed in typically developing people with a genetic load for autism, such as parents of autistic children. The Broad Autism Phenotypic Questionnaire (BAPQ) is a 36-item questionnaire developed to identify the BAP in first-degree relatives of autistic people. We translated the BAPQ into Swedish and examined its psychometric properties in a Swedish sample consisting of 45 parents of children with ASC and 74 parents of non-autistic children. We found support for the original 3-factor structure (aloof, pragmatic language and rigid), good internal consistency and convergent validity with the Autism Quotient. Thus, the Swedish BAPQ exhibits acceptable psychometric properties and may be useful for assessing the BAP in non-clinical populations.

Suicidality and Self-Harm in Autism Spectrum Conditions

2020 ◽  
pp. 348-368
Author(s):  
Jennifer N. Haddock ◽  
Louis P. Hagopian
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Practice ◽  
General Population ◽  
Early Death ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Convincing Evidence ◽  
Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Autistic People ◽  
Self Harm

Self-harm and suicidality in autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) have been underresearched. However, there is now convincing evidence that suicide is a leading cause of early death in the autistic community, and the prevalence of self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and suicidal behaviors is significantly elevated in autistic children and adults compared to the general population and psychiatric groups. Less research is currently available exploring the reasons why (etiology), how to assess or measure self-harm and suicidality, or how to treat these difficulties in autistic people. This chapter will summarize existing evidence on this topic and provide recommendations for future research and clinical practice to improve understanding, assessment, and prevention of self-harm and suicidality in ASD.

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