A study on sensory processing characteristics of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder

Objective  To explore the sensory processing characteristics of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder （ASD）， and to provide a theoretical basis for early screening and intervention training of ASD.

Methods  A total of 215 preschool children with ASD and 170 typically developed （TD） children were investigated with a basic situation questionnaire and sensory processing measure （SPM）. The two groups were stratified according to age and gender， and the differences of scores in sensory domains were compared to analyze the sensory processing characteristics of preschool children with ASD.

Results  The scores of social participation， vision， hearing， touch， taste and smell， body awareness， balance and motion， planning and ideas， and total sensory system in children with ASD were all higher than those in children with TD （all P<0.01）. The highest degree of abnormality was found in hearing and the lowest degree in taste and smell in children with ASD. The results of Spearman correlation analysis showed that in the 4-year-old and 5-year-old children with ASD， the scores of vision （r_s = -0.200， P= 0.033） and hearing （r_s =-0.194， P=0.040） decreased with age. There was no correlation between the scores of other developmental quotients and age （all P>0.05）. Boys and girls with ASD had higher scores in all developmental quotients than TD children （P<0.01）. However， there was no significant gender difference in any developmental quotients of ASD children （all P>0.05）.

Conclusion  Sensory processing abnormalities are common in preschool children with ASD， which are different from those of TD children in multiple sensory domains. Sensory processing abnormalities may be used as an indicator for early screening of ASD， and it is necessary to conduct corresponding intervention training for sensory processing abnormalities in children with ASD.