« Nous sommes plutôt doués pour sortir des sentiers battus » : expériences sensorielles précoces de personnes autistes exprimées par des adultes autistes et des aidants d’enfants autistes

Titre original en anglais : ‘We’re quite good at thinking outside the box: Early autistic sensory experiences expressed by autistic adults and caregivers of autistic children

Unwin, K., Philpott‐Robinson, K., Barbaro, J., Dwyer, P., Sadka, N., Date, P., & Lane, A. E. (2025). ‘We’re quite good at thinking outside the box: Early autistic sensory experiences expressed by autistic adults and caregivers of autistic children. Autism, 29(8), 2084-2096. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613251335069

Date de publication: 25/04/2025 Ajout dans AutiHub: 05/07/2026 Type: Article Langue de l’article: Anglais

Cette publication est intégrée dans AutiHub via :

Auteurs

Auteur·ices des publications
7
Auteur·ices de la publication identifié·es comme autistes
1 / 7 (14,3 %)

Résumé

Les différences sensorielles sont bien documentées chez les personnes autistes. Toutefois, les expériences sensorielles précoces n’ont pas été pleinement explorées, en particulier du point de vue des personnes autistes. Nous avons cherché à comprendre les expériences sensorielles précoces dans l’autisme du point de vue d’adultes autistes (dont certains avaient également des enfants autistes) et d’aidants d’enfants autistes (dont certains avaient également un diagnostic personnel d’autisme). En utilisant un plan descriptif qualitatif, aligné sur un paradigme constructiviste, des groupes de discussion ont été menés avec 3 adultes autistes et 12 aidants d’enfants autistes. Les données ont été analysées à l’aide d’une analyse thématique réflexive. Cinq thèmes ont été générés pour rendre compte des expériences sensorielles précoces dans l’autisme : (1) Reconnaître le caractère unique des préférences sensorielles, (2) Les répercussions négatives des différentes expériences sensorielles, (3) Se sentir différent et la quête d’appartenance, (4) Contrôler les expériences sensorielles pour soutenir le fonctionnement quotidien et, enfin, (5) Surmonter les défis du monde sensoriel. Les résultats mettent en évidence les besoins sensoriels spécifiques des enfants autistes dans la petite enfance et la capacité d’adaptation des aidants. Ces informations peuvent aider les jeunes personnes autistes et les aidants à défendre l’importance de reconnaître le caractère unique des préférences sensorielles de chaque enfant autiste lors de la recherche de soutien. Résumé grand public Les comportements sensoriels dans la petite enfance peuvent avoir une incidence sur la manière dont les enfants autistes vivent le monde et y prennent part. De nombreuses recherches portent sur les différences sensorielles chez les enfants autistes ; toutefois, on sait très peu de choses sur les expériences durant la petite enfance. Nous avons interrogé 3 adultes autistes et 12 aidants d’enfants autistes au sujet de leurs expériences ou de celles de leur enfant concernant les comportements sensoriels dans la petite enfance. Dans notre échantillon, les adultes autistes et les aidants d’enfants autistes ont fait part d’expériences similaires concernant les difficultés auxquelles eux-mêmes ou leurs enfants sont confrontés en lien avec les expériences sensorielles dans la petite enfance et la manière dont ils les ont surmontées. Les résultats peuvent influencer la manière dont les chercheurs et les prestataires de services considèrent les préférences sensorielles dans la petite enfance, en comprenant que les préférences de chacun sont uniques et qu’il est important de défendre ce qui convient à chaque personne autiste.

Sensory differences are well documented in autistic individuals. However, early sensory experiences have not been fully explored, particularly from the perspective of autistic people. We sought to understand early sensory experiences in autism from the perspective of autistic adults (some of whom also had autistic children) and caregivers of autistic children (some of whom also had a personal autism diagnosis). Using a qualitative descriptive design, aligned with a constructivist paradigm, focus groups were conducted with 3 autistic adults and 12 caregivers of autistic children. Data were analysed with reflexive thematic analysis. Five themes were generated accounting for early sensory experiences in autism: (1) Acknowledging the uniqueness of sensory preferences, (2) Negative impacts of different sensory experiences, (3) Feeling different and the pursuit of belonging, (4) Controlling sensory experiences to support daily function, and finally (5) Overcoming the challenges of the sensory world. The findings highlight the specific sensory needs of autistic children in early childhood and the adaptability of caregivers. This information can help young autistic people and caregivers advocate the importance of recognising the uniqueness of each autistic child's sensory preferences when seeking support.Lay AbstractSensory behaviours in early childhood can impact how autistic children experience and engage in the world. There is a lot of research about sensory differences in autistic children; however, there is very little known about experiences in early childhood. We asked 3 autistic adults and 12 caregivers of autistic children about their/their child's experiences of sensory behaviours in early childhood. In our sample, autistic adults and caregivers of autistic children shared similar experiences about the challenges they/their children face related to sensory experiences in early childhood and how they overcame these. The findings can influence how researchers and service providers view sensory preferences in early childhood by understanding that everyone's preferences are unique, and the importance of advocating for what works for each autistic person.

Bibliographie citée par cette référence

Les références citées sont importées depuis des sources externes de métadonnées lorsqu’elles sont disponibles. La liste peut être partielle.

Vue d’ensemble de l’inclusion dans la bibliographie

Ces indicateurs décrivent la bibliographie citée importée pour cette publication. Les métriques de références citées utilisent le total des références citées comme dénominateur. Les métriques d’auteurices cité·es indiquent si elles utilisent toutes les occurrences d’auteurices cité·es ou seulement les occurrences rattachées à des auteurices déjà intégré·es à la base de données AutiHub. Ils utilisent les rattachements mis en cache entre les auteurices cité·es et les auteurices intégré·es à la base de données AutiHub. Dernier calcul : 16/08/2026 11:30.

Références citées
61
Nombre total de références citées intégrées pour cette publication.
Références citées avec un·e auteur·ice identifié·e comme autiste
5 / 61 (8,2 %)
Occurrences d’auteur·ices cité·es identifié·es comme autistes
8 / 190 (4,2 %)
Parmi les occurrences rattachées à des auteurices intégré·es à la base de données AutiHub : 8 / 68 (11,8 %). Auteurices cité·es distinct·es identifié·es comme autistes : 7 / 172 (4,1 %).
Occurrences citées rattachées à la base AutiHub
68 / 190 (35,8 %)
Auteurices cité·es distinct·es rattaché·es : 51 / 172 (29,7 %)
Occurrences rattachées, non identifiées comme autistes
60 / 68 (88,2 %)
Parmi les seules occurrences rattachées. Sur l’ensemble des occurrences d’auteurices cité·es : 60 / 190 (31,6 %). Auteurices cité·es distinct·es rattaché·es, non identifié·es comme autistes : 44 / 51 (86,3 %).
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