Touch sensitivity measured by questionnaire

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by Wayne Pereanu

What was known.
Having an increased sensitivity to touch, or hypersensitivity, is found to co-occur with people with ASD in many cases. One of the ways this is measured is with a test where a position on a finger is vibrated at different frequencies. Most people have no problem detecting this vibration when it vibrates 40 times a second. However, it's been found that people with ASD are significantly better at detecting the stimulus when it vibrates at 200 times a second.

What's new?
Ayako Yaguchi presented unpublished data at a poster session on November 11th. In their work, they tested a group of people with ASD at various frequencies to determine their sensitivity. They also asked each tested person to take a 60-question Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile test. This test is all written and asks how you to report how you respond to different situations. It then scores your sensitivity on six different scales: Taste/Smell, Movement, Visual, Touch, Activity Level, and Auditory. The work presented on this poster found that the people with the highest level of sensitivity scored significantly higher for "Touch" sensitivity on the Sensory Profile test.