Sensory Characteristics of Children with Intellectual Disabilities: A Parent-Teacher Comparison

This study examined a sample of children with intellectual disabilities enrolled in the elementary, lower-secondary, and upper-secondary departments of a special needs education school in Japan. For this purpose, the data was collected from the children’s parents and teachers by using the Japanese version of the Short Sensory Profile (SSP), after which the parent- and teacher-reported scores were compared and the sensory characteristics of the children were analyzed. Based on the findings, the total SSP scores were significantly lower among the upper-secondary children than among the elementary and lower-secondary children, whereas the parent-reported results showed significantly higher scores than the teacher-reported results. Additionally, sensory dysfunction was not only observed in the children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but also in those without ASD. As for the parent-reported results, the total scores for the children with mild intellectual disabilities did not significantly differ from those for the children with moderate to severe disabilities. Since the analysis of the subscale scores revealed several instances of disagreement between the parents and teachers, it is essential to use both sets of SSP results in order to support children with intellectual disabilities.