SENSORIAL SEMIOLOGY IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS: A LITERATURE REVIEW

There has recently been a growing focus on sensoriality in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), although sensorial signs have long been considered as secondary, compared to other elements of the autistic syndrom. This article consists in a review of the literature dealing with this subject, combining three types of sources: scientific studies based on empirical data, retrospective studies of family movies, and autobiographies of autists. After a summary of the place of sensorial signs within the nosography of autism, we review the available epidemiological data on the phenomena (prevalence, specificity, predictive value, correlation with other elements of the syndrom), to then detail such signs in each sensory modality, as well as in the present functional profiles which result from it. Sensorial signs appear to be frequent, correlated in intensity with the severity of autism, and complex due to their intra et inter-individual variability. All sensory modalities can be concerned, in the form of hypo or hyperreactivity, associated with a search or an avoidance of sensation. This justifies that we take them into account in patient evaluation and management. Furthermore, these specificities often appear as early as the first year of life in infants at risk of autism. This raises the question of their possible use as tools for early detection, and suggests that processing sensory flows could precociously affect later neurodevelopmental disorders.