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A Framework For Studying Sensitivity To Auditory Stimuli: An Exploratory Study, Anastasia Pasyk

Culminating Projects in Community Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy

Children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are frequently reported to show sensitivity to auditory stimuli. While auditory preference assessments can show relative preference of one sound over another, they don’t provide information on the extent to which a sound might be aversive. The present study developed an escape and avoidance assessment in attempt to capture any sensitivity to auditory stimuli by comparing the results from this assessment to a standard auditory preference assessment, examining avoidance and escape responses of children to different speech types, and comparing the responses of children with an ASD diagnosis to typically developing children.