Developing a Novel Therapy for Aversive Sensory Experiences in Autism

Autistic young people will test a group therapy programme designed to reduce the anxiety triggered by everyday sounds, lights, textures, and smells. Many autistic people experience sensory input—a vacuum cleaner, a flickering fluorescent tube, the tag on a shirt—as intensely distressing. This sensory aversion can make school, public transport, or even mealtimes unbearable, and it often fuels chronic anxiety that standard treatments do not address. Existing therapies rarely target the sensory component directly. This study fills that gap by testing a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) group intervention that teaches young people practical strategies to manage both the sensory experience and the fear it generates. If the intervention works, it could give clinicians a non-drug tool to reduce a major source of daily suffering for autistic children and their families. The researchers will also measure physiological responses—heart rate, skin conductance—to see whether the therapy changes how the body reacts to aversive stimuli, not just how participants report feeling. That objective data could help refine future treatments. The project does not aim to cure autism or alter sensory processing itself; it targets the disabling anxiety that often accompanies it.