Sensory overloads, meltdowns, and shutdowns in Autism: A combined quantitative and qualitative perspective

自闭症中的感觉超载、崩溃和关闭：定量和定性相结合的视角

• 批准号: 2743075
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Cambridge
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2743075
• 关键词: Sensory; overloads; meltdowns; shutdowns; Autism

This project will address the following research questions:1. What are the key differences between sensory overloads, meltdowns, and shutdowns in adults with ASD?a. Can a clear definitional and phenomenological framework be developed to categorise these experiences?b. Do individuals with ASD experience these phenomena differently to individuals with Sensory Processing Disorder?2. How does multi-modal sensory input impact modality-specific executive function in ASD versus SPD?This study will utilise semi-structured qualitative interviews as well as diary methodology to explore the lived experiences of overloads/meltdowns/shutdowns across adults with ASD or SPD, with these findings then informing the development of a quantitative experiment to compare multi-modal sensory processing between these groups. Interviews and diary reports will primarily explore the subjective psychological and physiological aspects of overwhelming sensory experiences, with a particular focus on identifying experiential differences between overloads, meltdowns, and shutdowns, as well as drawing comparisons between ASD and SPD experiences. This comparison will enable the study to consider whether there are autism-specific components to overwhelming sensory experiences in ASD versus SPD, or whether there are commonalities of experience across both groups.This qualitative data will then be used to inform the development of a multi-modal sensory processing experiment, with feedback and input sought from both ASD and SPD participants throughout the design and piloting stages. Participants will be presented with multi-modal sensory information, as informed by the outcomes of the qualitative study, while asked to conduct a task involving executive function related to a specific sensory modality. The non-task modality input would effectively act as a 'distractor', to test the sensory filtering and 'gating' processes necessary for processing sensory input and selecting input for action. A condition without distractors would be used as a control. Both the experimental and control tasks would be performed by all participant groups, with the order of tasks randomised to prevent order effects.During the experiment, data will be gathered from multiple sources:1. Behavioural performance measures including task accuracy and speed2. Physiological indices of stress including heart rate and skin conductance3. Eye tracking and EEG measures to provide insight into cognitive processes, and the effects of multi-modal inputs as distractorsThese quantitative measures will be accompanied by brief post-experiment interviews/discussions with participants to gather qualitative accounts of their experiences during the task, including subjective reports of stress and task performance, and their reflections on participating in this research.Qualitative data will be analysed using thematic analysis, with the potential for a grounded theory approach to be used to develop a framework for understanding, defining, and distinguishing between overloads, meltdowns, and shutdowns. Key themes and concepts identified during the interview stage will inform the development of the experimental phase, particularly in terms of material and task design.Quantitative data from the experimental phase will likely be analysed using ANOVAs to compare responses and performance across participant groups, with participant group acting as a between-groups independent variable while the experimental conditions (multi-modal vs unimodal sensory input) will act as a within-group independent variable. Qualitative data from post-experiment interviews will be used to contextualise the quantitative data, while also providing an informative groundwork for future ASD research by reflectively engaging with participants' experiences of research.

本计画将探讨以下研究问题：1. ASD成年人感觉超负荷、崩溃和关闭之间的关键区别是什么？a.能否建立一个明确的定义和现象学框架来对这些经验进行分类？B. ASD患者与感觉加工障碍患者在这些现象上的经历是否不同？2.多通道感觉输入如何影响ASD与SPD的通道特异性执行功能？本研究将利用半结构化定性访谈以及日记方法来探索ASD或SPD成年人的过载/崩溃/关闭的生活经历，这些发现然后通知定量实验的发展，以比较这些群体之间的多模态感觉处理。访谈和日记报告将主要探讨压倒性感官体验的主观心理和生理方面，特别关注识别过载，崩溃和关闭之间的体验差异，以及ASD和SPD体验之间的比较。这一比较将使研究能够考虑ASD与SPD中压倒性感觉体验是否有自闭症特异性成分，或者两组之间是否存在共同的体验。然后，这些定性数据将用于为多模态感觉处理实验的开发提供信息，并在整个设计和试点阶段寻求ASD和SPD参与者的反馈和输入。参与者将被呈现多模态的感官信息，如定性研究的结果所告知的，同时被要求进行一项涉及与特定感官模态相关的执行功能的任务。非任务模态输入将有效地充当“干扰物”，以测试处理感觉输入和选择动作输入所需的感觉过滤和“门控”过程。没有干扰物的条件将被用作对照。实验和控制任务都将由所有参与者小组执行，任务的顺序随机化以防止顺序效应。在实验期间，数据将从多个来源收集：1.行为表现指标，包括任务的准确性和速度2。压力的生理指标，包括心率和皮肤电导率3。眼动追踪和脑电图测量，以提供对认知过程的洞察，以及多模态输入作为干扰因素的影响这些定量测量将伴随着简短的实验后访谈/与参与者的讨论，以收集他们在任务期间的经验的定性描述，包括压力和任务表现的主观报告，以及他们对参与这项研究的反思。定性数据将使用主题分析进行分析，并有可能使用扎根理论方法来制定一个框架，用于理解，定义，以及区分过载、熔毁和停机。在访谈阶段确定的关键主题和概念将为实验阶段的发展提供信息，特别是在材料和任务设计方面。实验阶段的定量数据可能会使用ANOVA进行分析，以比较参与者群体的反应和表现，以被试组为组间自变量，实验条件（多模态与单模态感觉输入）将作为组内自变量。实验后访谈的定性数据将用于定量数据的背景化，同时还通过反思参与者的研究经验为未来的ASD研究提供了翔实的基础。