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Updated: Sep 25, 2025

Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Published on: April 22, 2015
Attachment to fathers and mothers in preschoolers with an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis
David Oppenheim1, Nina Koren-Karie2, Tirtsa Joels1
1School of Psychological Sciences and the Center for the Study of Child Development, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
Abstract:
We examined whether the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) is applicable not only for assessing children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their mothers but also with their fathers. Forty preschoolers with ASD were observed in the SSP with their mothers and 39 with their fathers. Unexpectedly, the SSP was found to be not applicable (NA) to 25% of the SSPs with fathers because levels of attachment behavior were minimal, but all SSPs with mothers were codable. NA children had lower cognitive functioning and more severe symptoms than those not so coded. Insecure children with their fathers had more severe symptoms than secure children, but were not different in their cognitive functioning. No associations between attachment with mother and severity of symptoms/cognitive functioning were found. Attachment was unrelated to parents' distress or Broad Autism Phenotype. The study raises questions regarding the applicability of the SSP with fathers of children with ASD.
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