Tactile sensory dysfunction in children with ADHD.
OBJECTIVE
While a group of children with ADHD may have normal behavioral responses to sensory stimuli, another group may be hyperreactive. The aim of this survey was studying association of tactile sensory responsivity with co-morbidity of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms, subtypes of ADHD, and gender in children with ADHD.


METHODS
The subjects were 81 children with ADHD from a child psychiatry clinic. The diagnoses were made according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. Tactile dysfunction Checklist was used to assess the three types of tactile sensory dysfunction including Hypersensitivity, hyposensitivity, and poor tactile perception and discrimination (PTPD).


RESULTS
Their mean age was 8.4 (SD = 1.9) years. None of the gender, number of symptoms of ODD co-morbidity, and ADHD subtypes was as a predictor of scores of Hyposensitivity and PTPD subscales. Tactile defensiveness was not different between genders and different subtypes of ADHD.


CONCLUSIONS
Number of ODD symptoms in children with ADHD is a predictor in association with hypersensitivity score of tactile sensory function. Girls are no more than the boys impaired in Hypersensitivity aspect. Different subtypes of ADHD are not distinct disorders regarding to tactile sensory function.
Ghanizadeh
Ahmad
A
Department of Psychiatry, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Hafez Hospital, Shiraz, Iran. ghanizad@sina.tums.ac.ir
D000293:Adolescent; D001010:Anxiety, Separation / Q000150:complications; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000150:complications*; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / Q000150:complications; D002648:Child; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012737:Sex Factors; D020886:Somatosensory Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055698:Touch Perception