Sensory processing in adults with autism spectrum disorders.
Unusual sensory processing persists into adulthood in autism, with 94% of autistic adults reporting extreme levels on at least one sensory quadrant of the AASP.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Crane et al. (2009) asked adults with autism to fill out the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile.
The survey sorts each person into four sensory quadrants: low registration, sensation seeking, sensory sensitivity, and sensation avoiding.
All participants were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and lived in the community.
What they found
Almost every adult scored in the extreme range on at least one quadrant.
No two profiles looked the same—some people were seekers, others avoiders, many mixed.
The team showed that sensory issues stay common and highly individual after childhood.
How this fits with other research
Schneider et al. (2006) already found broad sensory differences in a mixed-age autism group, so the new data confirm the pattern lasts into adulthood.
Hense et al. (2019) seem to disagree: they found normal tactile spatial skills in autistic adults. The gap disappears when you notice Marlene tested one fine-touch task while Laura used a wide self-report tool—different lenses, both true.
Menezes et al. (2025) extend Laura’s work by linking low-registration (hypo) scores to real-world executive-function problems, giving you a practical red flag to watch for.
Why it matters
You can’t guess an adult client’s sensory world from the autism label alone. Give the AASP or a quick sensory interview at intake, note the extreme quadrants, then tailor accommodations—noise filters, movement breaks, warning before touch—one person at a time.
Sensory Issues Extend Across the Lifespan
Most sensory research in autism has focused on children. This study assessed adults with ASD using the Adult/Adolescent Sensory Profile (AASP), a 60-item self-report measure of everyday sensory processing.
Sensory abnormalities were highly prevalent: 94.4 percent of the autistic sample reported extreme levels of sensory processing on at least one of the four AASP quadrants.
Wide Variability Between Individuals
Patterns of sensory difficulty varied strikingly within the autistic group. Individuals could experience very different profiles, yet each was similarly severe, spanning low registration, sensation seeking, sensory sensitivity, and sensation avoiding.
Because these differences persist into adulthood, clinicians should assess sensory processing when supporting autistic adults, both for treatment planning and for recognizing autism diagnosed later in life.
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Add the four AASP quadrant scores to your adult intake form and pick one sensory accommodation that matches the highest extreme score.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Unusual sensory processing has been widely reported in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs); however, the majority of research in this area has focused on children. The present study assessed sensory processing in adults with ASD using the Adult/Adolescent Sensory Profile (AASP), a 60-item self-report questionnaire assessing levels of sensory processing in everyday life. Results demonstrated that sensory abnormalities were prevalent in ASD, with 94.4 percent of the ASD sample reporting extreme levels of sensory processing on at least one sensory quadrant of the AASP. Furthermore, analysis of the patterns of sensory processing impairments revealed striking within-group variability in the ASD group, suggesting that individuals with ASD could experience very different, yet similarly severe, sensory processing abnormalities. These results suggest that unusual sensory processing in ASD extends across the lifespan and have implications regarding both the treatment and the diagnosis of ASD in adulthood.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2009 · doi:10.1177/1362361309103794