SENSORY-PERCEPTUAL ABNORMALITIES IN AUTISM - A CASE FOR MORE RESEARCH

Sensory-perceptual abnormalities in people with autism are discussed f rom two perspectives: published firsthand accounts and existing psycho logical research evidence. A range of abnormalities, including hyper- and hyposensitivity, sensory distortion and overload, and multichannel receptivity and processing difficulties are described in firsthand ac counts and frequently portrayed as central to the autistic experience. A number of dangers are inherent in uncritically accepting these acco unts at face value and in arty wider generalization to the autistic po pulation as a whole. Evidence from clinical studies suggests that unus ual sensory responses are present in a majority of autistic children t hat they are manifested very early in development, and that they may b e linked with other aspects of autistic behavior In addition, experime ntal studies using a range of indices have found evidence of unusual r esponses to sensory stimuli in autistic subjects. However the clinical and experimental research to date suffers from serious methodological limitations and more systematic investigation is warranted. Key issue s for future psychological research in the area are identified.