How are Sensory Features associated with seven anxiety disorders in boys with Autism Spectrum Disorder?

• Sensory Features (SF) are a neurobiological aspect of Autism Spectrum Disorders.
• SF has been correlated with general anxiety in ASD but not with 7 anxiety disorders.
• Boys and parents ratings of SF and 7 anxiety disorders anxiety were investigated.
• Different relationships were found for boys and parents ratings.
• Global evaluation of SF and anxiety may be unreliable.

The association between Sensory Features (SF) and seven anxiety disorders was investigated using self-reports and parental reports about 140 young males with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Although there were significant correlations between SF and self- and parent-ratings of some of the seven anxiety disorders, overall, SF was found to have an inconsistent association across the seven anxiety disorders and this was also found for the 8 symptoms of Generalised Anxiety Disorder. These data challenge the practice of assessing SF and anxiety via global measures and argue for individualized disorder-specific assessments to develop more effective diagnoses and treatments for the effects of SF.