Sensory reactivity and mental health symptoms in autism
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Elucidating the relationship and co-development of sensory reactivity and mental health symptoms in autism
IRAS ID
249952
Contact name
Teresa Tavassoli
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Reading
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Many autistic children perceive the sensory world around us differently. Some autistic children for example are overwhelmed by sounds or touch. This can make everyday situations such as visiting a busy supermarket a challenging task for families. Being overly sensitive has been linked to anxiety. Intolerance of uncertainty (IU), have also been linked to anxiety. Furthermore, there is evidence that caregiver anxiety levels are linked to symptoms in their autistic children.
This project will explore if sensory reactivity can predict later anxiety and related mental health symptoms, and if caregivers have related symptoms. To do so we will recruit 200 autistic children; 100 children age 3-4 and 100 children age 5-6 and follow them for 5 years. We will ask caregivers questions about how they and their child reacts to the sensory world around them, such as to sounds and lights. We will also observe children and caregiver reactions towards sensory stimuli directly, such as to different sounds or a touch by a feather. In addition, we will ask questions about IU, and anxiety and related symptoms at all time points. That way we can test if the relationship between sensory reactivity and related mental health issues is stable over time. Also we can test if early sensory reactivity and IU can predict later mental health symptoms. Identifying whether these factors predict mental health symptoms over time could lead to a clinical impact. If these factors are identified and treated earlier, it might be possible to reduce the impact of subsequent mental health problems, such as anxiety. Moreover, understanding child and related parent symptoms and the relationship to anxiety will help us to better understand autistic children and their needs.
REC name
South Central - Berkshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/SC/0462
Date of REC Opinion
15 Oct 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion