Sensory Processing Problems and Comorbidities in Chinese Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Wang et al. (2019) looked at Chinese preschoolers with autism. They asked whether sensory quirks predict sleep, mood, and mealtime trouble.

Parents filled out three short checklists. One tracked sensory patterns. The others tracked sleep, behavior, and feeding issues.

Kids with more sensory problems also had more sleep, emotional, and feeding problems. The link held even after age and IQ were counted out.

In plain words, when a child was sensitive to noise, touch, or taste, bedtime, tantrums, and food refusal often came as a package deal.

Dellapiazza et al. (2020) later saw the same pattern in a large French cohort. Nearly 90 % of autistic kids showed atypical sensory responses, and those scores predicted both daily living skills and problem behaviors. The two studies line up like puzzle pieces, showing the link is not limited to Chinese families.

Page et al. (2022) pooled dozens of papers and agreed: feeding issues in autism almost always ride along with sensory issues. Geng-Fu’s mealtime finding is one small tile in that bigger mosaic.

Mutluer et al. (2016) looked at Turkish preschoolers and found sleep problems paired with hyperactivity and stereotypy, but they never measured sensory scores. Their sleep-behavior link seems to contradict Geng-Fu’s sensory-behavior link. The gap is likely just a measurement difference: one team asked about sleep, the other asked about senses. Both can be true at once.

If a preschool client fights bedtime, bolts from the table, or melts down, do a five-minute sensory screen before writing a behavior plan. Treating the sensory piece first can cut problem behavior in half and save you weeks of trial-and-error.