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The Effects of Menarche upon the Sensory Features of Girls with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

The effects of menarche on Sensory Features (SF) profiles were investigated in a sample of 53 high-functioning girls aged 6 yr. to 17 yr. (M age = 10.0 yr., SD = 2.7 yr) who had received a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Results indicated that girls who had reached menarche were reported by their mothers as exhibiting significantly lower Sensation Seeking and Multisensory Processing scores than girls who had yet to reach menarche. When examined at the individual item level, no-menarche girls showed significantly higher scores on six of the Sensation Seeking, and these were characterised by physical activity, particularly being “On the go”.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Autism Spectrum Disorder, Bond University, Robina, Queensland, 4229, Australia

    Vicki Bitsika

  2. Brain-Behaviour Research Group, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, 2351, Australia

    Christopher F. Sharpley

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  1. Vicki Bitsika
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  2. Christopher F. Sharpley
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VB and CFS conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination and drafted the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Christopher F. Sharpley.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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No author has any conflict of interest to declare.

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Bitsika, V., Sharpley, C.F. The Effects of Menarche upon the Sensory Features of Girls with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Dev Phys Disabil 30, 755–769 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-018-9617-x

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