Louisa MT. Silva, MD, MPH;* Mark Schalock, BSc

With the inclusion of sensory abnormalities in the DSM-V criteria for autism, the multifocal touch/pain abnormalities reported in young children with autism are no longer comorbid symptoms, and it has become an urgent priority to identify their nature and significance. A recent study differentiated children with autism from typical and otherwise developmentally delayed groups on the two-fold basis of mixed allodynia and hypoesthesia, and severe global self-regulatory delay. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed case records for 266 pre-school children with autism and typical development to verify recent findings, assess the prevalence and location of tactile abnormalities in the autism group, and explore the relationship between tactile abnormalities and self-regulatory delay. Results differentiated the autism group by severity of tactile abnormality [F(1, 262) = 172.8, p

Key Words: autism, autism spectrum disorder, children, hypoesthesia, allodynia, abnormal tactile responses, self-regulatory delay

Louisa MT. Silva, MD, MPH
Western Oregon University, Salem, OR
*Corresponding Author: Visiting Professor, Teaching Research Institute, Western Oregon University, Post Office Box 688, Salem, OR 97308. Tel: 503-585-9239.
(Email: lmtsilvaqigong@comcast.net)

CONFLICT OF INTEREST
None.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study was supported in part by grant R40 MC24945 from the MCH Autism Intervention Research Program, Maternal and Child Health Bureau (Combating Autism Act, 2006), Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services. We wish to thank Kristen Gabrielsen for her work on editing this article.

FUNDING SOURCES
Curry Stone Foundation; Maternal and Child Health Bureau (Combating Autism Act, 2006), Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services.