Sensory differences and mental health
Published on 18 November 2022
Author: Dr Teresa Tavassoli
Dr Teresa Tavassoli is Associate Professor in the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences at the University of Reading. Here she discusses three interlinked studies conducted by her research group over recent years.
Sensory reactivity is the way that we react to, or seek, sensory stimuli such as smells, sounds, touch, or taste. This includes:
- Sensory hyperreactivity (or “hypersensitivity”) eg being oversensitive to sounds.
- Sensory hyporeactivity (or “hyposensitivity”) eg being under-responsive to touch.
- Sensory seeking eg craving sensory input.
Many autistic people have difference sensory experiences, making everyday activities potentially challenging and unpleasant - but how does this impact their mental health? The following studies investigated the relationship between sensory reactivity and mental health symptoms in autistic children.
Study one: The relationship between sensory reactivity differences and anxiety in autistic children
The first study (MacLennan, Roach, Tavassoli, 2020) used parent reports to measure both sensory reactivity and anxiety in around 40 autistic children aged 3 to 14 years. We also used a computer-based self-assessment to measure anxiety in those aged 6+. We found that:
- Greater sensory hyperreactivity (e.g. being oversensitive to sounds), was related to increased phobia-related symptoms such as specific fears and anxieties.
- Sensory hyporeactivity (e.g. being under-responsive to touch), was related to lower anxieties including social anxiety.
- Sensory seeking, such as a fascination with lights, was not related to anxiety here.
Our results have important implications, suggesting that sensory reactivity differences should be considered when developing targeted anxiety interventions for autistic children.
Study two: The relationship between sensory reactivity, intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety in preschool-age autistic children
Our second study explored links to intolerance of uncertainty (IU) which describes a difficulty with unpredictable or unforeseen situations or environments (Maclennan, Rossow, Tavassoli, 2021). IU is associated with both sensory reactivity and anxiety, however this was the first research to explore the relationships of sensory reactivity, intolerance of uncertainty and specific anxieties (or “subtypes”) in preschool-age autistic children. Our participants were a group of 54 preschool-age autistic children, age 3–5 years, and we used both observation and parent-reports.
The study found:
- Links between more sensory hyperreactivity (e.g., over-sensitive to sensory input), intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety, including separation anxiety, in autistic pre-schoolers.
- Sensory hyperreactivity could be an early indication of the development of anxiety, with intolerance of uncertainty being an additional key factor.
These findings, as above, have implications for early anxiety interventions and suggest that sensory reactivity as well as intolerance of uncertainty are important factors that need to be taken into account.
Study three: The relationship between sensory reactivity differences and mental health symptoms in preschool‐age autistic children
A third project looked at the relationship between sensory reactivity and broader mental health using parent reports and direct observations (Rossow, MacLennan, Tavassoli, 2021). We found that in autistic pre-schoolers:
- More visible (“externalizing”) mental health symptoms, such as impulsivity, are related to sensory seeking (seeking out or being fascinated with sensory stimuli).
- Less visible (“internalizing”) mental health symptoms, such as being easily upset, are related to sensory hyper-reactivity (sensitivity to sensory stimuli).
Our results also show the link between internalizing symptoms and sensory hyper-reactivity was only seen in autistic pre-schoolers who used few to no words. This has important implications for the assessment of sensory differences as part of more rigorous mental health assessments, especially in autistic people who use few to no words.
Conclusion and implications
Overall results shed light onto the relationships between sensory reactivity differences (sensory hyperreactivity, hyporeactivity and seeking behaviour), anxiety and related mental health symptoms in autistic children. We identified which sensory reactivity differences are connected to which mental health areas.
By identifying specific sensory and mental health associations in autistic children, and additional factors impacting the relationship, we will be able to provide an understanding of potential early intervention strategies such as those which target anxiety specifically. This may help to prevent more significant mental health problems later on in life.