Fetta Anna, Carati Elisa, Moneti Laura, Pignataro Veronica, Angotti Marida, Bardasi Maria Chiara, Cordelli Duccio Maria, Franzoni Emilio, Parmeggiani Antonia
IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, UOC Neuropsichiatria dell'Età Pediatrica, 40139 Bologna, Italy.
Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche e Chirurgiche (DIMEC), Università di Bologna, 40137 Bologna, Italy.
Brain Sci. 2021 Apr 11;11(4):484. doi: 10.3390/brainsci11040484.
The relationship between sensory profile and repetitive behaviours in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has long been known. However, there is no consensus on the type of relationship that exists between them. This monocentric retrospective-prospective observational study aimed (a) to detect a clinical correlation between the severity of repetitive behaviours and the alterations of sensory profile in a sample of 50 children diagnosed with ASD; (b) to evaluate how different patterns of stereotypies and sensory alterations correlate with each other and with the main clinical-instrumental variables in the same sample. We enrolled 29 children in the retrospective phase of the study and 21 in the prospective phase. The Repetitive Behaviour Scale-Revised (RBS-R) and the Short Sensory Profile (SSP) were administered to the caregivers, and clinical-instrumental data were collected. SSP and RBS-R total scores directly correlated with a high significance rate. Among the subscales, the strongest correlations involved "Visual/Auditory Sensitivity", related to "Stereotyped Behaviour" and "Sameness Behaviour". "Under-Responsive/Seeks Sensation" related to "Stereotyped Behaviour". Sex and intellectual disability significantly influenced both the stereotypies and the sensory alterations of the examined population. In conclusion, this study provides new insights into the relationship between sensory alterations and repetitive behaviours in ASD children by using direct medical observation and parent observation.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）中感觉特征与重复行为之间的关系早已为人所知。然而，它们之间存在何种关系尚无定论。这项单中心回顾性-前瞻性观察性研究旨在：（a）在50名被诊断为ASD的儿童样本中，检测重复行为严重程度与感觉特征改变之间的临床相关性；（b）评估同一样本中不同刻板行为模式和感觉改变如何相互关联，以及与主要临床-仪器变量的关联。我们在研究的回顾阶段招募了29名儿童，在前瞻性阶段招募了21名儿童。向照料者发放了修订版重复行为量表（RBS-R）和简短感觉特征量表（SSP），并收集了临床-仪器数据。SSP和RBS-R总分具有高度显著的直接相关性。在各分量表中，最强的相关性涉及与“刻板行为”和“同一性行为”相关的“视觉/听觉敏感性”。与“刻板行为”相关的“反应不足/寻求感觉”。性别和智力残疾对所研究人群的刻板行为和感觉改变均有显著影响。总之，本研究通过直接医学观察和家长观察，为ASD儿童感觉改变与重复行为之间的关系提供了新的见解。
