Sensory processing and participation in childhood occupation in Autism and Typically developing children - A cross sectional case control

BackgroundSensory processing difficulties and participation in childhood occupation in children impact their development, but the association among Malaysian children is unknown. The aim of this study is to provide empirical evidences on sensory processing and participation in childhood occupation, in children with autism and compare them with typical children without autism /typical. MethodTwo groups of participants (parents of children with autism and parents of normal children were recruited from 5 hospitals, and from tuition/care centre/school respectively. Children with autism, age 6 to 10 years were matched (age/gender) with typical children. The Participation of childhood occupation (PICO) and Sensory Processing (SSP) measures were used. Data were analysed descriptively for patterns, and Chi-square cross tabs used to compare sensory processing and participation (categorical variables) between the two groups. Results186 parents (93 children with autism and 93 typically developing children) participated. In the autism group, 77.4 percent (n=72) were males, or 4:1 male to female ratio. Children with autism compared with typical group experienced- a) higher sensory processing difficulties and b) less participation in childhood occupation (except basic activities like eating and sleep). Sensory processing difficulties in the autism children is lower compared to developed countries, but, the prevalence of sensory processing difficulties in the typical children (21.5 percent) was higher than data from USA and Israel (9-15%). There were significant differences in sensory processing difficulties between the two group (p<0.05), except for movement sensitivity (p=0.28). Auditory filtering section were most affected in children with autism. ConclusionDifferences were found in the sensory processing difficulties (especially auditory filtering) and lower participation in autism group compared to normal group. A higher percentage of sensory processing difficulties was also found in the normal/ typically developing children, which may be attributed to cultural or geographical factors (living in high rise flats with less playing space). More studies are needed comparing rural and urban children.