Social and non-social sensory responsivity in toddlers at high-risk for autism spectrum disorder.
Jaclyn Gunderson, Emma Worthley, Rebecca Grzadzinski and 9 others
PMID 34145789WHAT IT FOUND
Toddlers who later developed autism showed higher sensory responsivity to both social and non-social stimuli at 12 months.
These differences widened by 24 months, suggesting early sensory irregularities are generalized rather than limited to social contexts.
Key findings
01High-risk infants who later met diagnostic criteria for ASD had significantly elevated sensory responsivity scores in both social and non-social contexts at 12 months, with the gap widening by 24 months.
02Higher sensory responsivity scores were significantly associated with more restricted and repetitive behaviors and lower adaptive functioning, but showed no significant association with overall autism symptom severity or cognitive ability.
03No single sensory item distinguished the groups; differences were spread across a wide range of behaviors, though items like staring at spinning objects and putting non-food items in the mouth showed large mean differences.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was predominantly White and highly educated, limiting generalizability to diverse populations. All participants were siblings of children with ASD, so findings may not apply to children with ASD who do not have an affected sibling. Sensory data relied on parent report, which may be biased if parents suspect a diagnosis or overlook subtle hyporesponsivity. The study did not include direct observation of sensory behavior, so it cannot confirm if parent-reported scores match actual performance. The distinction between 'social' and 'non-social' items in the questionnaire is imperfect, as some behaviors (like smelling people) blur the categories.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the NIH and other non-US government grants. No commercial conflicts of interest were reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that sensory scores predict the severity of autism symptoms. The study found no significant association between sensory responsivity and ADOS severity scores, meaning a child with high sensory scores is not necessarily more severely autistic in terms of core social communication deficits.