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Jason L. He, Zachary J. Williams, Ashley Harris, Helen Powell, Roseann Schaaf, Teresa Tavassoli, Nicolaas A. J. Puts
(2023).
A working taxonomy for describing the sensory differences of autism.
Molecular Autism, 14(1), 15.
Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
- Publication date
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11 Apr 2023
- Identifier
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10.1186/s13229-022-00534-1
- Authors
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Jason L. He,
Zachary J. Williams,
Ashley Harris,
Helen Powell,
Roseann Schaaf,
Teresa Tavassoli,
Nicolaas A. J. Puts
- Source
- Molecular Autism
- Details
- 14(1), 15
- Reference type
- article
- Publisher
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC
- Metadata source
- crossref
Abstract
Abstract Background Individuals on the autism spectrum have been long described to process sensory information differently than neurotypical individuals. While much effort has been leveraged towards characterizing and investigating the neurobiology underlying the sensory differences of autism, there has been a notable lack of consistency in the terms being used to describe the nature of those differences. Main body We argue that inconsistent and interchangeable terminology-use when describing the sensory differences of autism has become problematic beyond mere pedantry and inconvenience. We begin by highlighting popular terms that are currently being used to describe the sensory differences of autism (e.g. “sensitivity”, “reactivity” and “responsivity”) and discuss why poor nomenclature may hamper efforts towards understanding the aetiology of sensory differences in autism. We then provide a solution to poor terminology-use by proposing a hierarchical taxonomy for describing and referring to various sensory features. Conclusion Inconsistent terminology-use when describing the sensory features of autism has stifled discussion and scientific understanding of the sensory differences of autism. The hierarchical taxonomy proposed was developed to help resolve lack of clarity when discussing the sensory differences of autism and to place future research targets at appropriate levels of analysis.
Study authors in this cited reference