Sensory Characteristics of Japanese Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Background: An increasing number of research in sensory characteristics in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) has indicated that a majority of this population has sensory related problems and such traits may have high relationship with those that have been considered as core symptoms of ASD. To investigate these issues and to support individuals who have sensory difficulties, there is a high demand for developing a standardized tool to assess sensory characteristics in Japan. This study was a part of a project of re-standardizing the Sensory Profile (SP: Dunn, 1999) and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition (VABS-II: Sparrow, Cicchetti, & Balla, 2005) in Japan. The project is funded by Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. 

Objectives: A pilot study was conducted using the original SP and the VABS-II standardized in the USA for Japanese children and youth with ASD. The study focused on (1) distributions of the study samples on the SP sections/factors, (2) differences between younger participants (3-10yrs) and older participants (over 11yrs) in the SP sections/factors, (3) relationship between the SP sections/factors and the VABS-II Maladaptive Behavior Index (VABS-II MBI). 

Methods: 141 caregivers of children and youth with ASD aged 3 to 27 (95 male, 17 female) agreed to fill out the SP and the VABS-II. Although all forms of the SP and the VABS-II were translated in Japanese, scoring was completed using the norms originally developed in the USA. 

Results: (1) Distributions of the study samples were skewed to “Definite Differences” in 9 out of 14 areas in the SP sections, and 7 out of 9 areas in the SP factors. (2) The SP scores of younger participants indicated higher sensory atypicality in 5 out of 14 areas in the SP sections, and 2 out of 9 areas in the SP factors, compared to those of older participants. (3) 6 out of 14 areas of the SP sections, and 4 out of 9 areas of the SP factors, were moderately and significantly correlated with the VABS-II MBI. 

Conclusions: The SP scores revealed that Japanese children and youth with ASD obviously appear to have problems in sensory processing. Differences in the SP scores between younger and older participants may suggest that further investigation is warranted for developmental change in sensory difficulties of individuals with ASD. Moderate correlations between the SP and the VABS-II imply relationships in manifestation of sensory difficulties and maladaptive behaviors in ASD population. Since problems in social adaptations have been major indicators of ASD symptoms, sensory characteristics could also be the other indicators for diagnosing and assessing ASD. Overall, the results of the study supported the findings of related studies conducted in other countries; however, because the study used the norms of the original versions of the SP and the VABS-II that were standardized in the USA, some degrees of caution may be needed to discuss the implications of the results. Japanese standardizations of the SP and the Vineland-II are currently in progress.