Brief Report: Assessment of Sensory Abnormalities in People with Autistic Spectrum Disorders

• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-004-5293-z
• Publication Date: 2004-12-19T11:12:35Z
• Authors: James Harrison; Dougal Julian Hare
• Keywords: Adult; Male; assessment; autism; Middle Aged; Severity of Illness Index; Sensory function; Perceptual Disorders; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Surveys and Questionnaires; Humans; Female; Autistic Disorder; Retrospective Studies

Sensory functioning has long been considered crucial in the life of people with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) (Gillberg, C., & Coleman, M. (1992). The Biology of Autistic Syndromes (2nd ed.). London: Mac Keith press.) However, much of the research is methodologically flawed and based on child populations and adults' retrospective accounts (O'Neill, M.C 1995). Sensory-perceptual abnormalities in autism. Psychological Perspectives in Autism-Conference Proceedings 1995 (pp. 55-61). Autism Research Unit, University of Sundarland). Such sensory dysfunction may contribute to poor person/environment fit and subsequent challenging behaviour. This paper presents an assessment tool developed to explore the sensory functioning of adults with ASD.