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Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition marked by persistent deficits in social communication and interaction alongside restrictive and repetitive behaviors or interests. ASD is sometimes accompanied by intellectual impairment.
These core symptoms manifest differently among individuals, ranging from mild to severe. The disorder's complexity extends beyond its clinical presentation, encompassing a diverse range of biological, cognitive, and sociocultural influences.

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

The somatosensory system is the central and peripheral nervous system component that senses and processes touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and body position or proprioception. The process of sensation takes place at three levels:
The receptor level:
The receptor level is the first stage of sensation. It involves the detection of a stimulus by specialized sensory receptors. The stimulus must arrive within the receptor's receptive field. Next, the receptor converts the energy of the...

Parallel Processing

Parallel Processing

The brain processes sensory information rapidly due to parallel processing, which involves sending data across multiple neural pathways at the same time. This method allows the brain to manage various sensory qualities, such as shapes, colors, movements, and locations, all concurrently. For instance, when observing a forest landscape, the brain simultaneously processes the movement of leaves, the shapes of trees, the depth between them, and the various shades of green. This enables a quick and...

Overview of Somatic Sensory Pathways

Overview of Somatic Sensory Pathways

Somatic sensory or somatosensory pathways refer to the neural pathways that carry information related to touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and proprioception from the skin, muscles, tendons, and joints to the brain. These pathways involve several stages of processing and integration of sensory information.
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The dorsal...

What is a Sensory System?

What is a Sensory System?

Sensory systems detect stimuli—such as light and sound waves—and transduce them into neural signals that can be interpreted by the nervous system. In addition to external stimuli detected by the senses, some sensory systems detect internal stimuli—such as the proprioceptors in muscles and tendons that send feedback about limb position.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 21, 2025

Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Published on: April 22, 2015

Sleep, Sensory Integration/Processing, and Autism: A Scoping Review.

Shelly J Lane¹, Marco A Leão¹, Virginia Spielmann²

¹Sensory Integration, Play, and Occupational Therapy Research Lab, Department of Occupational Therapy, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States.

Frontiers in Psychology

|June 3, 2022

Summary

Sleep dysfunction and sensory differences are common in autism. This review highlights their co-existence and the need for more research on sensory-focused interventions for autistic individuals.

Keywords:

adults autism spectrum disorder children insomnia sensory processing/integration sensory reactivity sleep disturbances

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Developmental Psychology
Occupational Therapy

Background:

Sleep dysfunction is more prevalent in autistic individuals compared to the neurotypical population.
Sensory reactivity differences are also significantly higher in autism.
Sensory integration and processing concerns may contribute to sleep disorders in autism.

Purpose of the Study:

To conduct a scoping review of the literature on the relationship between sleep and sensory integration/processing in autism.
To identify sleep concerns and sensory processing differences reported in autistic individuals.
To explore existing interventions and identify gaps in research.

Main Methods:

Searched six databases for peer-reviewed articles in English or Spanish published up to June 2021.
Included studies focusing on autism, sensory integration/processing, and sleep.
Excluded studies on animals, non-peer-reviewed articles, or those not meeting specific population and focus criteria.

Main Results:

24 articles were included, characterizing the relationship between sleep and sensory integration/processing in autism.
Common sleep issues included bedtime resistance, sleep anxiety, delayed sleep onset, night waking, and short sleep duration.
Sensory concerns involved hyper- and hypo-reactivity, and sensory seeking across various domains.

Conclusions:

There is a clear co-existence of sensory reactivity differences and sleep concerns in autistic individuals.
The relationship between sleep and sensory processing is complex and requires further investigation.
Interventions with a central sensory component are understudied and need greater rigor.