Sensory responsiveness as a predictor of social severity in children with high functioning autism spectrum disorders.

The team looked at 6- to 10-year-olds with high-functioning autism. They asked parents to fill out two checklists: one about sensory quirks and one about social skills.

Then they ran stats to see which sensory patterns best forecast social trouble.

Kids who were touch-sensitive, picky about taste or smell, or jumbled by many senses at once had the hardest time socially. These three sensory areas were the strongest early warning signs.

Other senses, like sound or movement, mattered less.

Marsack et al. (2017) later showed the same taste/smell and multisensory quirks sit on two clear latent factors, giving you a shorter screen.

Tillmann et al. (2019) seemed to disagree: in a big EU sample, sensory scores did not predict overall adaptive living skills. The key difference is outcome. Julian looked at broad daily-living scores; L et al. looked only at social skills. Sensory issues sting most in the social lane, not every life skill.

Altun Varmis et al. (2026) extended the idea into bedtime: multisensory and visual processing deficits also mediate the link between screen time and sleep loss in ASD kids, so the sensory domain keeps popping up across routines.

Screen touch, taste/smell, and multisensory sensitivity first. When you see these flags, weave sensory breaks, desensitization, or alternative seating into social-skills groups. Targeting the sensory piece early may soften later social gaps without waiting for broad adaptive scores to drop.