Purpose: To examine patterns of sensory responsiveness (i.e., hyperresponsiveness, hyporesponsiveness, and sensory seeking) as factors that may account for variability in social-communicative symptoms of autism and variability in language, social, and communication skill development in children with autism or other developmental disabilities…

Matson and Nebel-Schwalm (Research in Developmental Disabilities 28(4) 341-352, 2007) conducted an overview of comorbid psychopathology with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. The purpose of the current paper is to expand on Matson and Nebel-Schwalm (Research in Developmental Disabilities 28(4) 341-352, 2007) by discussing the…

Background/Methods: Sensory processing capacities of 8-12-year-old internationally adopted (IA) children who experienced prolonged institutional care (greater than 12 months with 75% of pre-adoption lives in institutional care) prior to adoption into family environments (PI) were compared to a group of IA children who were adopted early (less than…

Sensory-based activities are commonly recommended for students with ASD, even in the absence of empirical data to substantiate their effectiveness. A single subject alternating treatment design was used to assess functional relations between sensory-based antecedent interventions and correct responding in four students with autism. As individuals…

The importance of storytelling in social, cultural and educational contexts is well established and documented. The extension of storytelling to people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) has in recent years been undertaken with an emphasis on the value of sensory experience and the context storytelling provides for social…

We argue for the utility of a functional definition of stereotypy based on evidence of both sensory automatic and socially mediated reinforcement contingencies in the occurrence of stereotypy in children with autism. A predetermined sensory function of stereotypy is often invoked in the behavioral literature and the term "self-stimulatory…

The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) recognizes the current challenges faced by states and schools relative to the provision of high-quality intervener services for children who are deaf-blind. To respond to these challenges, OSEP asked the National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB) to conduct an…

This study examined the relationship between repetitive behaviors and sensory processing issues in school-aged children with high functioning autism (HFA). Children with HFA (N = 61) were compared to healthy, typical controls (N = 64) to determine the relationship between these behavioral classes and to examine whether executive dysfunction…

Loss of previously established behaviors in early childhood constitutes a markedly atypical developmental trajectory. It is found almost uniquely in autism and its cause is currently unknown (Baird et al., 2008). We present an artificial neural network model of developmental regression, exploring the hypothesis that regression is caused by…

Sensory modulation symptoms are common in persons with autism spectrum disorders (ASD); however have a heterogeneous presentation. Results from 14 studies indicated a significant high difference between ASD and typical groups in the presence/frequency of sensory symptoms, with the greatest difference in under-responsivity, followed by…

Sensory processing refers to the way the brain takes incoming sensory messages, converts them into meaningful messages, then makes a response. If the responses are disorganized or inappropriate given the sensory input, sensory processing disorder (SPD) may co-exist with autism. If a child has an occasional atypical response to sensation, he or she…

Israel Paskowitz loves surfing. As a former competitive surfer, he has spent much of his life in the ocean and absorbed in a community of athletes that share a special connection with the water. Surfing is often thought of as a spiritual hobby that brings peace and relaxation to those who experience it. However, it was not until Israel's son,…

The purpose of this study was to examine sensory quadrants in autism based on Dunn's Theory of Sensory Processing. The data for this study was collected as part of a cross-sectional study that examined sensory processing (using the Sensory Profile) in 103 persons with autism, 3-43 years of age, compared to 103 age- and gender-matched community…

This study compared the patterns of sensory processing among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and children without disabilities. Parents reported on the frequency of sensory processing issues by completing the Chinese Sensory Profile (CSP). Children with disabilities (ASD or ADHD)…

To heal the hurt child, one begins not as a clinician but as a person trying to witness how the child experiences trauma. This requires more than just talking since the child's terrifying memories are stored in the brain's senses and visual imagery, not in rational thoughts and words. The goal is to change these frightening sensory experiences…