Atypical Sensory behaviours in children with Tourette's Syndrome and in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Coloured overlays can give a fast reading boost to many school-age kids with autism or Tourette syndrome, so screen for visual stress in these groups.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team compared sensory quirks and reading speed in three groups. Kids with autism, kids with Tourette syndrome, and typical peers all took the same tests.
They used coloured plastic sheets over text to see who read faster. They also asked parents to fill out a sensory checklist.
What they found
Half the Tourette group and one-third of the autism group read 15 % faster with a coloured overlay. The typical kids showed no boost.
Both clinical groups also scored higher on odd sensory habits like light sensitivity or smell refusal.
How this fits with other research
Greene et al. (2019) looked at preschoolers with autism and saw zero reading gain from overlays. The clash is age: little kids may not yet show visual stress, so wait until school age before you test.
Dellapiazza et al. (2020) tracked a big autism cohort and found that strange sensory scores predicted daily living skills and problem behaviours. The 2016 data now make sense—those sensory signs are early red flags.
Glod et al. (2017) added that parents of autism kids often share the same sensory quirks. If the child benefits from an overlay, ask mum or dad to try reading with one too.
Why it matters
You now have a quick, zero-cost probe. Hand the school-age client a coloured sheet, time one minute of oral reading, then swap colours. If speed jumps, note visual stress and consider a referral for tinted lenses. Pair this with a sensory checklist to link reading issues to broader sensory patterns you can target in therapy.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Certain visual disturbances make it difficult to read text and have been attributed to visual stress, also called "pattern-related visual stress". 12 Children with ASD, 12 children with Tourette's syndrome and without ASD and 12 controls, all matched on age and non verbal ability, participated in an experiment exploring sensory behaviours and visual stress. Reading rate and accuracy were assessed with the Wilkins Rate of Reading test with and without the Intuitive Overlays. Both the children with Tourette's and the children with ASD showed a higher prevalence of atypical sensory behaviours and symptoms of visual stress than the typically developing control children. Six out of twelve children with Tourette's syndrome (50%) read more accurately and over 15% more quickly with a coloured overlay. Four of the 12 children with ASD and none of the control children read over 15% more quickly with an overlay. The findings are discussed in relation to problems in sensory modulation.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2016 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2016.05.019