Sensory processing in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Relationship with non-verbal IQ, autism severity and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder symptomatology

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to analyze in a sample of children with ASD the relationship between sensory processing, social participation and praxis impairments and some of the child's characteristics, such as non-verbal IQ, severity of ASD symptoms and the number of ADHD symptoms (inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity), both in the home and main-classroom environments. Participants were the parents and teachers of 41 children with ASD from 5 to 8 years old (M=6.09). They completed the Sensory Processing Measure (SPM) to evaluate sensory processing, social participation and praxis; the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS-2) to evaluate autism severity; and a set of items (the DSM-IV-TR criteria) to evaluate the number of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms in the child. Non-verbal IQ - measured by the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices Test - did not show a relationship with any of the SPM variables. The SPM variables were significant predictors of autism severity and had similar weights in the two environments. In the case of ADHD symptoms, the SPM variables had a greater weight in the home than in the classroom environment, and they were significant predictors of both inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity - especially inattention - only in the family context. The moderate association between inattention and auditory processing found in the main-classroom suggests the possible utility of certain measures aimed to simplify any classroom's acoustic environment.

Keywords: Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms; Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); Environment; Non-verbal IQ; Sensory Processing Measure (SPM); Sensory processing.