Sensory Behaviors in Minimally Verbal Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: How and When Do Caregivers Respond?
Clare Harrop, Nicole Tu, Rebecca Landa and 2 others
PMID 29281320WHAT IT FOUND
Caregivers of minimally verbal children with autism most often prompted or changed their own behavior in response to sensory behaviors.
They reported responding less to movement and more to social behaviors than non-social behaviors.
Key findings
01Caregivers most often reported prompting, then changing their own behavior, in response to their child's sensory behaviors.
02Caregivers reported responding less frequently to movement behaviors than to auditory, visual, and taste/smell behaviors.
03Caregivers endorsed more non-social sensory items but reported responding more frequently to social than non-social behaviors.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study included only minimally verbal children aged five to eight, so it does not show how younger children or more verbal children with autism behave or are responded to. All children had prior early intervention, so caregivers may already have learned some strategies before completing the questionnaire. The researchers created and coded the response categories, and the categories were partly based on their expectations and earlier literature. Caregivers were not asked whether their responses worked, so the study cannot say which strategies are effective. The study did not measure caregiver stress or family participation, so it cannot link sensory behaviors to those outcomes.
Declared interests
The supplied metadata lists NIH and non-U.S. government research support. No author conflict declaration is included in the supplied text.