Project details

Summary

What is the study about?

Autism is a naturally-occurring, largely genetic condition that affects how that person understands their environment and interacts with other people, with around 1-1.5% of people diagnosed in the UK.

Sensory and motor difficulties (SMD), such as hypersensitivity to sound and light, and difficulties with carrying out physical movements, occur in  approximately 80% of autistic people. SMD can cause significant problems with day-to-day tasks, such as getting dressed, eating and maintaining employment – often leading to anxiety, depression, fatigue, a restricted lifestyle and reduced quality of life.

Despite the serious impact of SMD, autistic adults do not receive routine assessment and support for their SMD unless they also have a diagnosed Learning Disability (LD), which is usually picked up in early childhood and supported accordingly.

What are you trying to find out?

In this study, we seek to show the need for routine sensory motor assessments and treatment for autistic people without Learning Disabilities and what kinds of support would be of help.

Our long-term goal is to make it possible for all autistic adults to have a sensory and motor assessment (if they choose to).

What does taking part involve?

For detailed information, please see the key documents at the top of this page, which includes a "What to Expect" document and a visual overview of the participation process. To view videos of how each assessment works in practice, please see the "EASI Videos" document in the key documents.

You will be invited to attend two sessions with an autism informed Occupational Therapist (OT).

Session 1: 

During the first session, the OT will ask you some questions about your health and will perform a sensory motor assessment called the “Evaluation in Ayres Sensory Integration” (EASI). This is an assessment is regularly used by OTs within the NHS to assess sensory and motor status. The EASI consists of different tasks that involve positioning one’s own body and / or equipment, drawing, making eye movements and identifying shapes. The OT will explain how to complete each test.

You are welcome to bring a family member/friend or carer to help support you during your visit, if you wish. You will then receive a report detailing the OTs findings and any support recommendations.

Session 2: 

The second session will occur with the same OT approximately 6 weeks after receiving the report. The OT will be able to provide any further advice and will also ask you to complete some surveys so that we can measure what you thought about the assessments and report and if there were any benefits.

You will also be asked to fill in a short online survey between session 1 and 2 asking about you experience of the assessment. If you prefer, we can send you a paper version or we can arrange a video/phone call to read out the question or assist you. Alternatively, you can complete this with the OT at visit 2, but completing it closer to when you had the assessment may help you remember more.

Session 1 will last approximately 2-3 hours, session 2 approximately 1 hour and the survey between visit 1 and 2 approximately 30 minutes.

It is possible that you may need to complete session 1 across two separate visits if you get tired or the session lasts longer than 3 hours.

Who is it for?

You can take part if you’re:

• Autistic
• Receiving support from the autism clinic
• At least 18 years old
• Do not have a diagnosed Learning Disability (if you have a learning difficulty such as Dyslexia or Dyspraxia you can still take part)
• Are able to understand ordinary verbal and written English

We hope to recruit 110 participants.

Why is it important? 

Our long-term goal is to make it possible for all autistic adults to have a sensory and motor assessment (if they choose to). You will be contributing to development of a future NHS service that currently does not exist for autistic people.

How can I find out more?

You can find out more information about taking part in this study by downloading the key documents at the top of this page.

If you are interested in taking part in this study, or have questions for the research team, click the button below to email the research team:

Email the research team

Patient and Public Involvement and sharing our findings

Our previous work with autistic people confirmed the importance of but lack of SMD assessment and support and guided our decisions around recruitment and assessment to maximise benefit for volunteers.

The project will be co-produced with two autistic team members who will attend team meetings and the workshops. Advice will also be sought from ~15 members of the Autism@Manchester Expert by Experience advisory group and implemented where practicable. Participants will benefit immediately through acquiring greater personal awareness and understanding, together with recommendations to help manage their SMD.

The longer-term goal of introducing a SMD pathway is to improve quality of life for autistic people. Blogs and presentations about the findings will be shared with autistic people and clinicians through Autism@Manchester, support groups, charities, NHS trusts and related social media. We will reach professionals via conferences and in publications.