Sensory experiences of children with autism spectrum disorder: in their own words.
Autistic kids as young as four can tell you exactly what bothers their senses if you ask in kid-friendly ways.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team talked to 30 autistic kids .
They used simple story questions like "Tell me about a time you heard a loud noise."
Kids drew pictures and acted things out while they talked.
What they found
Even the youngest kids could describe their sensory world in clear detail.
One five-year-old said, "The vacuum sounds like it's eating my ears."
Kids told how sounds, lights, and textures felt painful, scary, or funny.
How this fits with other research
Fahmie et al. (2013) counted that 70 % of autistic youth show unusual sensory interests.
Laposa et al. (2017) found the same behaviors in babies and teens, proving these traits last a lifetime.
Ozonoff et al. (2008) showed that spinning toys at 12 months predicts later autism; V et al. now show what the child feels inside during those moments.
Why it matters
You can ask kids directly about their sensory triggers instead of guessing. Use short, concrete questions and let them draw or show you. Their words give you faster assessment data than parent checklists alone.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
First-person perspectives of children with autism spectrum disorder are rarely included in research, yet their voices may help more clearly illuminate their needs. This study involved phenomenological interviews with children with autism spectrum disorder (n = 12, ages 4-13) used to gain insights about their sensory experiences. This article addresses two study aims: determining the feasibility of interviewing children with autism spectrum disorder and exploring how they share information about their sensory experiences during the qualitative interview process. With the described methods, children as young as 4 years old and across a broad range of autism severity scores successfully participated in the interviews. The manner with which children shared information about their sensory experiences included themes of normalizing, storytelling, and describing responses. The interviews also revealed the importance of context and the multisensory nature of children's experiences. These findings contribute strategies for understanding the sensory experiences of children with autism spectrum disorder with implications for practice and future research.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2015 · doi:10.1177/1362361314520756