Tactile Processing and Quality of Sleep in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) commonly experience problems with the processing of tactile stimuli and poor quality of sleep. The aim of the present study was to analyze whether tactile stimuli modulation (TSM) disorders might be linked to insomnia prevalence in ASD individuals. We hypothesized that sleep disorders in children with ASD may result from improper tactile under/over responsivity. The study included 27 children diagnosed with ASD, aged 6.8 (±2.9 years) with male dominance (n = 22, 81.5%). To evaluate the pattern of TSM we used a clinical interview with a parent, and guided and spontaneous observation of the patients. Sleep disorders were diagnosed using the Athens Insomnia Scale. Of all the children diagnosed with TSM, 20 patients (74.1%) had an over-responsivity pattern and 7 children (25.9%) had an under-responsivity pattern. Of the patients, 11 children (40.7%) met the diagnostic criteria for insomnia. The data indicated a statistical tendency for higher prevalence of insomnia in individuals diagnosed with tactile under-responsivity (p = 0.051). We concluded that under-responsivity toward tactile stimuli may be partly responsible for poor sleep quality in ASD. There is an urgent need to treat sleep and sensory disruptions which may intensify behavioral difficulties in ASD.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorders; child development; disability; sleep; touch.

Figure 1

Insomnia Probabilities by TSM disorder, regarding age and gender of patients (p = 0.23).

Figure 2

Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) score by means of tactile processing disorders. Boxes represent medians and bars represent interquartile ranges (p = 0.51).