Contextual Factors Impacting Daily Sensory Experiences of Autistic Adults

Autistic individuals report sensory processing issues, which may impact daily experiences and abilities in educational and employment circumstances. Research that has explored contextual impacts on sensory processing is lab-based, lacking ecological validity, or qualitative and questionnaire based, introducing recall bias. We used ecological momentary assessment to investigate the daily sensory experiences of 44 autistic adults, who completed three daily questionnaires regarding their sensory experiences for two weeks, followed by a semi-structured interview. We conducted a mixed-methods analysis of their data. Results indicated significant associations between participants’ positive, negative, and neutral sensory experiences and their surroundings and other contextual factors, despite finding no significant relationship between these experiences and their scores on measures of autistic traits. Our thematic analysis revealed themes related to participant’s reactions to and coping mechanisms for sensory experiences. These findings have implications for autistic adults to identify coping mechanisms to negative sensory experiences and create more sensory inclusive environments.