Perception and feelings of children with ASD in relation to clothing

The purpose of this research is knowing how children from 6 to 13 years with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) perceive and react to certain stimuli in relation to clothing. ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by restricted and repetitive behaviors, as well as deficiencies in communication and social interaction. In recent years, the sensory disorder has taken on importance as one of the main factors in ASD, thus recognized by DSM-V in 2013 as part of the diagnosis. The study had an exploratory scope with a qualitative approach, analyzing two perspectives: on the one hand, the one of parents of children with ASD in the province of Córdoba and, on the other hand, the one of health professionals. Therefore, it was analyzed how different clothing factors, such as color, texture, sound, odors, among others, affect to the senses and in which way they are perceived. The results showed that sensory disorder varies from child to child, since it is a spectrum that ranges from hypersensitivity to hyposensitivity. In addition, it was found that a stimulus can cause three states to the child: fascination, rejection or indifference.