Receptor dominance training effects in autistic boys.

Abstract

Based primarily upon observation and also various research studies, it has been proposed that autistic children manifest a contact receptor dominance. Further, it is proposed that the abnormal response to sensory stimuli frequently observed in autistic children represents an arrest in perceptual development. Following the sequence outlined by Jones and Hart (1968) where they present the idea that the normal child develops from near- through mid- to far-space, an attempt was made to help the autistic child move beyond near-space employing sensory discrimination training. To this purpose, four autistic and four normal boys were matched according to their mean ages. These were later further divided into three groups: two autistic treated, two autistic control, and four normal control subjects. The aim of the study was to: (a) test whether there was contact receptor dominance (touch) in the autistic boys and distance receptor dominance (vision and audition) in the normal subjects; (b) whether training of the autistic experimental group could facilitate a shift in receptor dominance towards that shown by the normal controls. In the 5-month program, each of the two treated boys received 50 hours of training aimed towards development from contact to distance receptor usage. On both the pre- and posttests for all three groups an 18 trial training period preceded the 36 trials of bimodal sensory stimulation where two stimuli were presented simultaneously, left and right. Subjects were required to indicate from which side of the apparatus they perceived the auditory, visual, or tactile stimulus. Results of the study showed a contact receptor dominance in the autistic group and a distance receptor dominance in the normal group. After training, the results indicated a substantial change in the receptor dominance of the treated autistic boys. This change was: (a) consistent over both subjects, (b) greater than proportional fluctuations in both controls, and (c) in the hypothesized direction. It was concluded that the treated autistic boys showed less contact receptor dominance after training.