Autistic adults commonly experience sensory reactivity differences. Sensory hyperreactivity is frequently researched, whilst hyporeactivity and seeking, and experiences across domains, e.g., vision, are often neglected. Therefore, we aimed to understand more about the sensory experiences of autistic adults. We conducted a mixed-methods study,…

While atypical sensory processes have become central to scientific explanatory models of autism, such models usually do not explicitly address first-person experiences of sensory processes by autistic individuals. Detailed phenomenological research of this subjective domain is nonetheless essential to ground explanatory accounts in the actual…

Background: This study examined whether a sensory adapted dental environment (SADE) diminished anxiety and agitation in adults with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) when compared to a routine dental environment (RDE). Method: Agitated behaviours (frequency and duration) were video-taped and anxiety-related physiological measures…

The genetic diversity contained in a population can be used to engage the audience in an understanding of human genotypes and phenotypes. With a series of simple examples of well-documented sensory phenotypes related to the perception of colour, aromas or food preference, the diversity of the audience can be easily explored. The collecting of…

Sensory issues have been widely reported in Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC). Since olfaction is one of the least investigated senses in ASC, the current studies explore olfactory detection thresholds and adaptation to olfactory stimuli in adults with ASC. 80 participants took part, 38 (18 females, 20 males) with ASC and 42 control participants…

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) tend to have sensory processing difficulties (Baranek et al. in J Child Psychol Psychiatry 47:591-601, 2006). These difficulties include over- and under-responsiveness to sensory stimuli, and problems modulating sensory input (Ben-Sasson et al. in J Autism Dev Disorders 39:1-11, 2009). As those…

Purpose: To explore the influence of taste and trigeminal irritation (chemesthesis) on durational aspects of tongue movement in liquid swallowing, controlling for the influence of perceived taste intensity. Method: Electromagnetic midsagittal articulography was used to trace tongue movements during discrete liquid swallowing with 5 liquids: water,…

A theory of visual information acquisition and visual memory is described that conjoins two models that have been used to describe low-level perceptual and higher level cognitive processes. Six experiments with 21 adult observers generally support the theory, although some weakness is discussed. (SLD)

Computational models of infant categorization often fail to elaborate the transitional mechanisms that allow infants to achieve adult performance. In this article, we apply a successful connectionist model of adult category learning to developmental data. The Supervised and Unsupervised Stratified Adaptive Incremental Network (SUSTAIN) model is…

A resource and activity guide for the developmentally disabled that focuses on methods to teach students skills essential to learning is presented. It is noted that once students begin to acquire these critical skills, they can become active participants in group learning activities, rather than waiting for their turn in individual sessions. They…