More About The Sensory Experiences Project

THE SENSORY EXPERIENCES PROJECT (SEP) is funded by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (#42168) to examine the development, functional impact, and cause of various sensory features in children with autism, developmental delay, and/or typical development, ages 2-12 years.

Sensory experiences involve myriad sounds, lights, motions, smells, tastes and/or touch sensations that we all encounter in our daily lives. Our project studies several types of behavioral response patterns that are evident in young children in both typical and atypical development. 

Among these patterns are hyper- and hypo-responsiveness as well as sensory seeking behaviors. Hyporesponsiveness is a diminished response to a sensory event. For example, a child may fail to turn toward her head to the sound of a bell, or show a delayed reaction to pain. Hyperresponsiveness presents as aversion or avoidance to a sensory event. For example, a child may cover his ears to a sound, or pull away when touched. Sensory seeking is an intense fascination or craving for a particular sensory experience. For example, a child may spin in circles or rub textures repeatedly.

1. Determine developmental changes of sensory experiences from preschool to school age in children with autism, developmental delay, and typical development. 
2. Measure the functional impact of specific sensory experiences on children's development and activities and on family routines and well-being.
3. Identify developmental, contextual, and neurocognitive risk factors associated with specific sensory patterns in children.

Four interrelated studies will address the project goals.

Study 1, Prospective Developmental Study, examines the stability of sensory features from the preschool (2-6 years) to the school-age (6-12 years) period, and the functional impact of these features on child/family outcomes.

Study 2, Developmental Study of Infants, analyzes videos of the infancy period (9-18 months) to determine what specific infant behaviors are precursors of established sensory response patterns in the preschool/school-age years, and to what extent they predict other developmental and functional outcomes.

Study 3, Observational and Experiential Study, uses a combination of lab measures, personal accounts of parents and verbal children, and in-home behavioral observations to determine the environmental contexts that elicit specific sensory experiences and their impact on children and family functioning in daily life.

Study 4, Neurocognitive Mechanisms, uses electroencephalography (EEG) to measure brain activity while a child watches a video and listens to gentle novel sounds to help determine potential causes of unusual sensory response patterns.

SEP was renewed in July of 2008. Some participants from our first phase will be returning to work with us in the second phase. In addition we are looking for new participants, ages 2-12 years with autism, developmental delay, and typical development, to take part in our exciting new studies. (If you are interested in participating in any of these studies, click here to contact us)