Proprioception and Autism

Proprioception and Autism

Autism presents with a range of symptoms, including difficulties with communication, social interaction, and sensory input.  Sensory processing difficulties commonly seen in autistic kids can include decreased pain recognition or an inability to use visual input information to assist with standing up-right.  Similar to how communication and social impairments vary from mild to severe, autistic children process sensory information differently and over a range of severities.  It has been reported that over 95% of autistic children have hyper- or hypo-sensitivities.  A hypersensitivity is an unusually large response to sensory input while hyposensitivities are unusually small responses to sensations.

Examples of hypersensitivities:

• Increased pain perception.  Autistic people may feel pain much more intensely than other people do.
• Increased touch sensitivity to specific parts of the body.  Autistic people might be more aware of things touching them, and/or might have trouble getting used to things touching them (like certain types of clothes).
• Increased sensitivity to certain sounds.  Sounds might seem louder to an autistic person, which might make them react to sounds more strongly.

Examples of hyposensitivity:

• Under-reaction to loud noises.  Certain sounds might not bother autistic people as much as they bother other people.
• Reduced sensitivity to pain.  Autistic people might note perceive certain types of injuries as painful.  This can be dangerous because the lack of sensitivity to pain may cause autistic people to do dangerous things (e.g. touch a hot stove) without realizing what the consequences are (e.g. bad burns).
• Difficulty distinguishing between sensations such as hunger and pain.

What is Proprioceptive input? 

Proprioception is the ability to sense your body’s position in space and where your arms and legs are relative to your body.  It’s also the sense that lets people know how it feels when different parts of their body are moving.  That is because people have sensors in their muscles, tendons, and joints that give them feedback on how active different muscles are in different parts of their bodies.  The feedback from those sensors helps the brain coordinate movement.  For example, if you are planning to walk somewhere, your brain needs to know what position your legs are in before you begin walking and needs to track how your legs are moving while you walk.  Proprioception also helps people to do some important skills like balancing without falling when their eyes are closed, reaching an arm out to grab objects, and doing coordinated movements (such as bringing a spoon to your mouth to eat).

Autism and Proprioception

As with other senses, autistic people can be hyper- or hypo-sensitive to proprioceptive stimulation.  If an autistic person is hypersensitive to proprioceptive stimulation, they might have difficulty knowing where their limbs or body are in space.  That could make them seem clumsy or make it difficult for them to judge appropriate personal space.  They may also have trouble “knowing their own strength,” meaning they might have trouble judging how much strength to apply to different tasks – they may have trouble writing because they press the pencil into the paper too hard or they might have trouble bringing utensils to their mouth when they eat.  Proprioceptive hypersensitivities might also cause autistic people to hold their bodies in unusual postures.

If autistic people have proprioceptive hyposensitivities, they might seek out proprioceptive stimulation.  To do that, they might move their arms or legs in order to feel them moving or they might enjoy “playing rough” and crashing into things.  When getting around, they might also prefer running or stomping rather than simply walking.  Autistic people might also deal with proprioceptive hyposensitivities by chewing on their fingers or on objects.

Article by: Avery Meeks and The Autism ToolKit

Works cited:  

Blanche, Erna Imperatore, et al. “Proprioceptive processing difficulties among children with autism spectrum disorders and developmental disabilities.” The American Journal of Occupational Therapy 66.5 (2012): 621-624.

Marco, Elysa J., et al. “Sensory processing in autism: a review of neurophysiologic findings.” Pediatric research 69.8 (2011): 48-54.

Morris, S L et al. “Differences in the use of vision and proprioception for postural control in autism spectrum disorder.” Neuroscience vol. 307 (2015): 273-80. doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.08.040

Khodabakhshi, Mahdi Khodabakhshi, Mokhtar Malekpour, and Ahmad Abedi. “The effect of sensory integration therapy on social interactions and sensory and motor performance in children with autism.” Iranian Journal of Cognition and Education 1.1 (2014): 39-53.

Riquelme, Inmaculada et al. “Abnormal Pressure Pain, Touch Sensitivity, Proprioception, and Manual Dexterity in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.” Neural plasticity vol. 2016 (2016): 1723401. doi:10.1155/2016/1723401

Website:

https://nationalautismresources.com/the-wilbarger-protocol-brushing-therapy-for-sensory-integration/

Autism and Proprioception