Application of Sensory Subtypes: Understanding Core Autism Features, Adaptive Behaviors, and Motor Skills in Autistic...

Sensory processing differences are prevalent among autistic children impacting their participation in daily activities. Sensory subtypes provide a useful approach to understand these differences, as sensory response patterns often co-occur. The purpose of this paper is to apply existing sensory subtype methodology to examine the four sensory subtypes' association with child outcome measures. Autistic children (n = 118) ages 6-18 years old were grouped into four sensory subtypes of mild, sensitive-distressed, attenuated-preoccupied, and extreme-mixed. This study examined associations among the four sensory subtypes and motor skills, core autism features, and adaptive behaviors. Most children were categorized into the mild (n = 53) and sensitive-distressed (n = 45) subtype with very few children falling in the attenuated-preoccupied (n = 9) and extreme-mixed subtype (n = 11). The four subtypes had group differences identified for motor skills, core autism features, and adaptive behaviors. The mild and attenuated-preoccupied had higher motor skills compared to the sensitive-distressed and extreme-mixed subtype. The extreme-mixed subtype had more core autism features, and lower adaptive behavior compared to the mild subtype. Sensory subtypes exhibit differential associations to child outcome measures for autistic children ages 6-18 years old. Understanding these relationships may provide an opportunity for earlier, targeted interventions to address the role sensory differences play in daily activities.