Table 7.
Sensory processing
| Study | Age at different assessments (in months) | Total number of participants | Number of EL siblings | Number of siblings with ASD outcome | Number of siblings with TD outcome | Number of siblings with another outcomea | Topic | Assessment method | Diagnostic instruments | Difference EL-ASD vs EL-TD and/or predicts ASD diagnosis | Main findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian et al. (2008) Canada [46] | 6–12, 18, 36 | 228 | 155 | 35 | 120 | – | Sensory processing: sensory behaviour and interests | ADOS-G, AOSI | ADOS-G, ADI-R, expert clinical judgment according to DSM-IV-TR | No |
On the subscale for atypical sensory behaviour at 18 m: EL-ASD showed a higher score than TL, while differences between EL-ASD and EL-TD were no longer present after Bonferroni correction EL-TD showed a higher score than TL |
| Germani et al. (2014) Canada [44] | 24, 36 | 90 | 59 | 14 | 45 | – | Sensory processing: auditory, tactile, vestibular, oral domains | Infant Toddler Sensory Profile (ITSP) | ADOS-G, ADI-R, MSEL, expert clinical judgment according to DSM-IV-TR | Yes |
EL-ASD at 24 m scored significantly higher than EL-TD and TL in items for auditory processing; EL-TD and TL did not differ significantly No difference for visual, tactile, vestibular, oral domains was found |
| Sacrey et al. (2015) Canada [19] | 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 24, 36–42 | 237 | 168 | 62 | 106 | – | Sensory processing: general | MSEL, VABS, parents‛ interview | ADOS-G, ADI-R, expert clinical judgment according to DSM-IV | Yes | Parents of EL-ASD had more sensory concerns by 6 m and 9 m than parents of EL-TD and TL (who did not differ) |
| Wolff et al. (2018) US/Canada [53] | 12, 14 | 466 | 331 | 74 | 257 | – | Sensory responsivity, sensory interests: auditory, tactile, visual domains | Sensory Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ) | ADOS-G, ADIR-R, MSEL, expert clinical judgment according to DSM-IV-TR | Yes |
At 12 m EL-ASD showed higher scores in sensory hyper-responsivity than EL-TD and TL and in the tactile modality than EL-TD From 12 to 24 m SEQ total score, hypo-responsivity and visual modality scores increased for EL-ASD and decreased for EL-TD At 24 m EL-ASD had higher scores in all subtests than EL-TD |
| Zwaigenbaum et al. (2005) Canada [33] | 6, 12, 24 | 88 | 65 | 7 | 46 | 12 | Sensory processing: sensory behaviour | AOSI | ADOS-G, ADI-R, expert clinical judgment according to DSM-IV | Yes | At 12 m but not at 6 m atypical sensory-oriented behaviour predicted ASD at 24 m |
aAtypical outcome: deficit in general cognition, motor functioning, language delay, Broader Autism Phenotype (BAP, social communication delay)