Sensory processing dysfunction among Saudi children with and without autism

[Purpose] There is a dearth of studies that have examined the occurrence of sensory processing dysfunction and its components in Saudi Arabian children with autism. Therefore, this study investigated the manifestation of sensory processing dysfunction in autism and compared the functional components of sensory processing between Saudi Arabian children with and without autism. [Subjects and Methods] A convenience sample of 46 Saudi Arabian children with autism and 30 children without autism participated in this study. The sensory processing functions of both groups were assessed with the Short Sensory Profile. [Results] The overall findings indicated that 84.8% of children with autism demonstrated definite sensory processing dysfunction. The most prevalent sensory processing dysfunctions involved the under-responsive/seeks sensation (89.13%), auditory filtering (73.90%), and tactile sensitivity (60.87%) domains. Most of the children without autism (66.66%) demonstrated typical sensory function; the most prevalent sensory processing dysfunctions involved the tactile sensitivity (33.3%), under-responsive/seeks sensation (23.33%), and movement sensitivity (20%) domains. [Conclusion] Saudi Arabian children with and without autism have clinically significant sensory dysfunctions. However, the prevalence of those sensory dysfunctions in children with autism is significantly higher than in the children without autism.