Joosten Annette V, Bundy Anita C
Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Occupational Therapy, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Aust Occup Ther J. 2010 Dec;57(6):366-72. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1630.2009.00835.x.
Sensory processing disorders have been linked to stereotypical behaviours in children with intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and to anxiety in children with ASD. In earlier phases of this study with the same participants, we found that those with both ASD and ID were more motivated than those with ID alone to engage in stereotypical behaviour to alleviate anxiety. In this phase, we confirmed that children with both ASD and ID and those with ID alone process sensation differently than typically developing children. We asked: Do the sensory processing difficulties of children with ASD and ID differ significantly from those of children with ID alone in a way that would help explain the increased anxiety of the former group?
Parents of children with ASD and ID (n = 29; mean age 9.7 years) and with ID alone (n = 23; mean age 9.5 years) completed a Sensory Profile (SP) to provide information about their children's sensory processing abilities. SP quadrant scores for each group were compared with each other and with the published norms of typically developing children.
Children with ASD and ID and with ID alone processed sensory information differently than typically developing children (P=0.0001;d= >2.00). Children with both ASD and ID were significantly more sensitive (P=0.007;d=0.70) and avoidant (P < 0.05;d=0.47) than the children with ID alone.
We conclude that increased sensitivity and the tendency to avoid sensation may help explain anxiety in children with autism.
感觉统合失调与智力障碍（ID）儿童和自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童的刻板行为有关，也与ASD儿童的焦虑有关。在本研究早期阶段，对相同的参与者进行研究时，我们发现患有ASD和ID的儿童比仅患有ID的儿童更有动力通过刻板行为来缓解焦虑。在本阶段，我们证实患有ASD和ID的儿童以及仅患有ID的儿童在感觉处理方面与发育正常的儿童不同。我们提出疑问：ASD和ID儿童的感觉统合困难与仅患有ID的儿童相比是否存在显著差异，这种差异能否有助于解释前一组儿童焦虑增加的原因？
患有ASD和ID的儿童（n = 29；平均年龄9.7岁）以及仅患有ID的儿童（n = 23；平均年龄9.5岁）的家长完成了一份感觉统合量表（SP），以提供有关其子女感觉统合能力的信息。将每组的SP象限得分相互比较，并与已发表的发育正常儿童的标准进行比较。
患有ASD和ID的儿童以及仅患有ID的儿童在感觉信息处理方面与发育正常的儿童不同（P = 0.0001；d>2.00）。患有ASD和ID的儿童比仅患有ID的儿童明显更敏感（P = 0.007；d = 0.70）且更倾向于回避（P<0.05；d = 0.47）。
我们得出结论，敏感性增加和回避感觉的倾向可能有助于解释自闭症儿童的焦虑。
