Researchers begin to map sensory over-responsivity in autistic children and adolescents
by Health Innovations
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, a team of UCLA researchers have shown for the first time that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who are overly sensitive to sensory stimuli have brains that react differently than those with the disorder who don’t respond so severely to noises, visual stimulation and physical contact.
The team state that the findings could lead to the development of interventions that can help the more than 50 percent of individuals with ASD who have very strong negative responses to sensory stimuli, a condition called sensory over-responsivity (SOR). Interventions for this condition could significantly improve the lives of children with this form of ASD and their families. The opensource study is published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
The researchers explain that this condition is distressing and impairing for individuals on the autism spectrum, as well as for their parents, who often feel confined to their homes because it’s too difficult to take their children out shopping, to the movies or to a restaurant. They go on to add that their research provides new insights into the brain differences that may cause sensory over-responsivity, which brings understanding how to treat it, from simple interventions like limiting exposure to multiple sensory stimuli to more complex interventions like cognitive-behavioural therapy.
Previous studies show that ASD is a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioural challenges. It occurs in all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups, but is almost five times more common among boys than among girls. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that about one in 68 children have been identified with autism spectrum disorder.
The teams note that research on SOR, and particularly brain imaging research, is still very new and sensory symptoms were only recently added to the diagnostic criteria for ASD, two developments which may ultimately lead to clues as to why these children have such strong reactions to sensory stimuli...
Access the full story at Health Innovations.
http://health-innovations.org/2015/06/12/researchers-begin-to-map-sensory-over-responsivity-in-autistic-children-and-adolescents/
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