Ermer, J., & Dunn, W. (1998). The Sensory Profile: A discriminant analysis of children with and without disabilities. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 52, 283-290.

In this study, we compared the children with autism, children with ADHD and children without disabilities to see whether we could sort them into separate groups based on their Sensory Profile scores. We found that we could identify children into their appropriate groups with 89% accuracy based on specific scores on the Sensory Profile. Children with autism were more likely to have oral sensory processing challenges, while children with ADHD were more likely to have distractibility.

Myles, B. S., Hagiwara, T., Dunn, W., Rinner, L., Reese, M., Huggins, A., & Stansberry, S. (2004). Sensory Issues in Asperger syndrome and autism. Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, December.

In this study we compared 68 children with AS and 68 children with autism to determine whether there were differences in sensory processing patterns between the two groups. For the subtests of Emotionally Reactive and Inattention/Distractibility, individuals with AS received a lower score than their counterparts with autism. The authors discuss the possibility that sensory processing may be an area to identify differences in the 2 groups.

Watling, R., Dietz, J., & White, O. (2001). Comparison of Sensory Profile scores of young children with and without autism spectrum disorders. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 55(4), 416-423.

These researchers also found significant differences between children with autism and peers on the Sensory Profile scores.

Kientz, M. A., & Dunn, W. (1997). Comparison of the performance of children with and without autism on the Sensory Profile. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 51, 530-537.

In this study, we conducted a preliminary investigation of the sensory processing patterns in children with autism. We found that the children with autism had differences in sensory processing when compared to peers. Their differences occurred across all areas tested on the Sensory Profile.