After looking broadly at variation across the autism spectrum, I wanted something much more specific to the problem emerging in my project. My current concern is that airport accessibility often provides one shared sensory solution for people who may experience the same environment very differently. I therefore wanted evidence showing whether sensory differences between adults with autism can actually be grouped into different patterns or levels of sensory reactivity.

I read Elwin et al. (2017), Sensory Clusters of Adults With and Without Autism Spectrum Conditions, published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Unlike much of the earlier sensory research based on children or parent reports, this study used self-reported sensory experiences from adults with autism.

Different sensory profiles

The study included 71 adults with autism spectrum conditions and identified three distinct sensory clusters. A lower-frequency group of 37 participants reported relatively low levels of atypical sensory reactivity. An intermediate group of 17 showed higher levels of hyperreactivity, sensory interests and sensory/motor differences, but not particularly high hyporeactivity. The final group of 17 showed high levels across all of the sensory measures, including both hyperreactivity and hyporeactivity occurring within the same individuals.

I found this much more useful than simply being told that autism is a spectrum because it begins to show what that variation can actually look like in sensory experience. Some adults experienced relatively few atypical sensory responses, while others experienced them much more frequently and across several different areas. The research also shows that sensory response is not necessarily simple or consistent; somebody can be unusually sensitive to some sensory input while also having reduced awareness of other sensations.

Reflection

This paper was much closer to what I had been looking for. Rather than only explaining that autism is diverse, it provides evidence that sensory experiences themselves differ substantially between adults with autism.

However, it still does not tell me exactly what different people want from their sensory environment. It tells me that different sensory profiles exist, but not whether one person wants silence while another wants music, whether somebody seeks pressure or movement, or how individuals personally manage overwhelming environments.

Elwin, M., Schröder, A., Ek, L., Wallsten, T. and Kjellin, L. (2017). Sensory Clusters of Adults With and Without Autism Spectrum Conditions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47, 579–589.