Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The overall goal of this procedure is to use psychophysical behavioral testing to characterize individual differences in temporal processing of auditory and visual stimuli in children with autism spectrum disorder and typical development. This is accomplished by first creating the necessary stimuli and verifying the timing precision of the stimulus presentation. The second step is to screen for participants that have normal hearing and vision.

Next, explain the instructions to the participant and have them complete each task. The final step is analyzing the data from each task and comparing differences in performance across all tasks. Ultimately, this behavioral battery is used to show how characterizing individual differences in temporal processing in children with autism can be used to assess sensory processing deficits, which may relate to higher order impairments in social communication.