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Sensory Reactivity at 1 and 2 Years Old is Associated with ASD Severity During the Preschool Years

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Abstract

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often display atypical sensory reactivity within the first years of life, prior to a diagnosis. This study examined sensory reactivity patterns at 14 months, changes from 14 to 23 months, and later ASD severity at 3 to 5 years of age in children (n = 87) at elevated likelihood of ASD. Results indicated that observed hyporeactivity at 14 months and increases from 14 to 23 months were related to higher ASD severity during the preschool years. Parent report of hyperreactivity at 14 months was associated with higher ASD severity in the RRB domain during the preschool years. Early hypo and hyperreactivity may predict later severity of ASD and aid in subtyping and developing individualized treatments.

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Funding

This study was supported by NICHD (T32 HD040127), the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education (R324A100305), a UNC-CH Junior Faculty Development Award, and a Graduate Student Research Grant from the Organization for Autism Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of North Carolina, Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Rebecca Grzadzinski

  2. University of North Carolina, Department of Biostatistics, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Kevin Donovan & Kinh Truong

  3. University of North Carolina, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Sallie Nowell

  4. Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Helen Lee, John Sideris & Grace T. Baranek

  5. University of North Carolina, TEACCH Autism Program, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Lauren Turner-Brown

  6. University of North Carolina, Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Linda R. Watson

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  1. Rebecca Grzadzinski
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  2. Kevin Donovan
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  3. Kinh Truong
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  4. Sallie Nowell
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  5. Helen Lee
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  7. Lauren Turner-Brown
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  8. Grace T. Baranek
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  9. Linda R. Watson
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by LRW, LT-B, GTB, and SN. The first draft of the manuscript was written by RG and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. Statistical assistance was provided by KD, KT, and JS. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Rebecca Grzadzinski.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Grzadzinski, R., Donovan, K., Truong, K. et al. Sensory Reactivity at 1 and 2 Years Old is Associated with ASD Severity During the Preschool Years. J Autism Dev Disord 50, 3895–3904 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04432-4

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