With autism cases on the rise in the US, spiking 175% between 2011 and 2022, more are looking for solutions to common symptoms, such as sensory over-responsivity.
To many autistic children, everyday sensations, such as scratchy fabric or a loud car horn, can be overwhelming and cause distress.
One study from UCLA Health, though, may have found a coping mechanism often used in what’s considered the gold standard of therapy, as well as by several journalists.
The study, published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, looked at children aged 8 to 15, 47 of whom were formally diagnosed with autism and 45 who were typically developing.
Participants went into an MRI scanner while unpleasant textures, including artificial grass and scratchy wool, were rubbed on their forearms.
Before the scans, the children were taught a “reporter game,” where some youths objectively described how the texture felt, sticking to the facts like a news reporter would, while others focused on how it felt.
When autistic patients played the reporter game, activity in the brain’s sensory region significantly dropped compared to focusing on how the texture felt.
Both groups also showed activity in the areas of the brain that regulate emotional responses, with older autistic children showing stronger activity.
The reporter game is known as cognitive reappraisal, a technique used in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that involves changing the way you think about something to change how it feels.
While sensitivity can affect many autistic children’s everyday lives, there aren’t many research-based treatments for the common symptom.
“For years we’ve been identifying what’s happening in the brain,” senior study author Shulamite Green said in a press release. “This is us finally getting to the point where we can test for possible treatments.”
Typically developing children may use frontal regions of the brain to manage sensory responses, while autistic children may have a developmental delay in this regulation.
Older autistic children may also use the strategy more effectively, due to developmental delays.
Despite their brain activity changing, the autistic youth didn’t rate the texture as less unpleasant, while typically developing youth did.
One potential explanation is the challenges with cognitive flexibility, making it difficult for autistic participants to shift ratings of a sensation in a short time span, according to Green.
In order for changes in brain activity to translate to changing how a sensation feels, longer-term interventions may be needed.
However, since the reappraisal strategy is already a part of cognitive therapy, it could be easy to incorporate into existing treatments.
“We know cognitive behavioral therapy interventions work for anxiety and emotional responses, so there is no need to reinvent the wheel,” Green said.
Current interventions for sensory over-responsivity include various therapies, like occupational therapy, sensory integration and CBT.
Other ways to manage this symptom may include sensory-based interventions, such as deep pressure input with tools like weighted blankets or environmental adjustments incorporating noise-canceling headphones, dim lighting and quiet spaces.
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