Ghanizadeh Ahmad
Department of Psychiatry, Research Center for Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Hafez Hospital, Shiraz, Iran.
Innov Clin Neurosci. 2011 May;8(5):25-30.
There are debates whether autistic disorder (autism) and Asperger's disorder are two distinct disorders. Moreover, interventional sensory occupational therapy should consider the clinical characteristics of patients. Already, commonalities and differences between Asperger's disorder and autistic disorder are not well studied. The aim of this study is to compare tactile sensory function of children with autistic disorder and children with Asperger's disorder.
Tactile sensory function was compared between 36 children with autism and 19 children with Asperger's disorder. The two disorders were diagnosed based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition, Text Revision. The parent-reported Tactile Dysfunction Checklist was used to assess the three aspects of hypersensitivity, hyposensitivity, and poor tactile perception and discrimination. Developmental coordination was also assessed.
Developmental coordination problems total score was not associated with group. The mean (standard deviation) score of tactile hyper-responsivity was not different between the groups. Tactile hyporesponsivity and poor tactile perception and discrimination scores were statistically higher in autistic disorder than Asperger's disorder group.
These results for the first time indicated that at least some aspects of tactile perception can differentiate these two disorders. Children with autistic disorder have more tactile sensory seeking behaviors than children with Asperger's disorder. Moreover, the ability of children with autistic disorder for tactile discrimination and sensory perception is less than those with Asperger's disorder. Interventional sensory therapy in children with autistic disorder should have some characteristics that can be different and specific for children with Asperger's disorder. Formal intelligence quotient testing was not performed on all of the children evaluated, which is a limitation to this study. In some cases, a clinical estimation of intelligence quotient was given, which limits the conclusions that can be drawn from the data. Additional research using formal intelligence quotient testing on all of the subjects should be performed in order to draw more concrete conclusions.
关于孤独症谱系障碍（自闭症）和阿斯伯格综合征是否为两种不同的疾病存在争议。此外，介入性感觉统合职业疗法应考虑患者的临床特征。目前，阿斯伯格综合征与孤独症谱系障碍之间的异同尚未得到充分研究。本研究旨在比较孤独症谱系障碍儿童与阿斯伯格综合征儿童的触觉感觉功能。
对36名孤独症儿童和19名阿斯伯格综合征儿童的触觉感觉功能进行比较。这两种疾病均根据《精神疾病诊断与统计手册（第四版，修订版）》进行诊断。采用家长报告的触觉功能障碍检查表评估触觉过敏、触觉减退以及触觉感知和辨别能力差这三个方面。同时也对发育协调能力进行了评估。
发育协调问题总分与组别无关。两组之间触觉高反应性的平均（标准差）得分无差异。孤独症谱系障碍组的触觉低反应性以及触觉感知和辨别能力差的得分在统计学上高于阿斯伯格综合征组。
这些结果首次表明，触觉感知的至少某些方面可以区分这两种疾病。孤独症谱系障碍儿童比阿斯伯格综合征儿童有更多的触觉感觉寻求行为。此外，孤独症谱系障碍儿童的触觉辨别和感觉感知能力低于阿斯伯格综合征儿童。针对孤独症谱系障碍儿童的介入性感觉统合治疗应具有一些与阿斯伯格综合征儿童不同且特定的特点。并非对所有接受评估的儿童都进行了正式的智商测试，这是本研究存在的一个局限性。在某些情况下，给出了智商的临床估计值，这限制了从数据中得出的结论。应进行更多使用正式智商测试对所有受试者进行研究，以便得出更确切结论。
