Sensory hypersensitivity predicts repetitive behaviours in autistic and typically-developing children.
Sensory hypersensitivity drives repetitive behaviors the same way in all kids - treat the sensory issue, not the diagnosis.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked parents about their kids' sensory issues and repetitive habits.
They studied 100 autistic kids and 100 typical kids .
Parents filled out two checklists: one for sensory hypersensitivity, one for repetitive behaviors.
What they found
Sensory hypersensitivity predicted repetitive behaviors in every child.
The link was equally strong in autistic and non-autistic kids.
Diagnosis added zero extra information once sensory scores were known.
How this fits with other research
Van Hanegem et al. (2014) found the same sensory-repetitive link in kids with Williams Syndrome. This shows the pattern isn't just an autism thing.
Laposa et al. (2017) and Fahmie et al. (2013) showed autistic kids have more sensory issues. The new study says the amount matters more than the diagnosis.
Matson et al. (2008) cut repetitive behaviors with social skills training. This suggests you can work on either sensory issues or social skills to reduce repetitive behaviors.
Why it matters
Stop treating repetitive behaviors as an autism-only problem. When you see hand-flapping or lining up toys, look for sensory triggers first. The same sensory supports help both autistic and typical kids. This makes your job easier - one assessment tool works for everyone.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between sensory hypersensitivity and restricted interests and repetitive behaviours associated with autism spectrum disorder and their typically-developing peers. Furthermore, the aims included the examination of the relationship across sensory modalities and various types of restricted interests and repetitive behaviours. Data were collected from the parents of 114 children: 49 of whom were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and 65 typically-developing children. Parents completed the Sensory Profile 2 - Child Version and the Repetitive Behaviours Questionnaire, Second Edition. The results suggested that sensory hypersensitivity is strongly related to the core autism spectrum disorder symptom of repetitive behaviours. This relationship was not specific to autism spectrum disorder; repetitive behaviours significantly increased with sensory hypersensitivity in typically-developing individuals as well. This effect was consistent across all modalities in both autism spectrum disorder and typically developing groups; group differences were observed in the oral and tactile modalities. Furthermore, sensory hypersensitivity was significantly predictive of repetitive behaviours in all participants, autism spectrum disorder and typically-developing, and importantly, autism spectrum disorder diagnosis did not add any predictive influence above and beyond sensory hypersensitivity. Finally, sensory hypersensitivity was significantly predictive of all subdomains of repetitive behaviours, including repetitive motor movements, rigidity and adherence to routine, preoccupation with restricted patterns of interest and unusual sensory interests, and diagnosis added no predictive ability beyond sensory hypersensitivity.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2019 · doi:10.1177/1362361318774559