The Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Oral Sensory Challenges in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the systematic review was to provide a summary and evaluation of oral sensory challenges in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The review evaluated 19 studies that met the inclusion and search criteria. The review is registered in Prospero Database (CRD42020179852). The 14 studies (8 case–control, 4 cohort, 1 observational, and 1 randomized clinical trial) were related to speech disorders and five studies (case–control studies) were associated with feeding and eating behavior in ASD. The meta-analysis of speech and feeding behavior was analyzed by using risk ratios (RRs) and standardized mean difference (SMD), with 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: The meta-analysis found a statistically significant difference of speech disorder between children and adolescents of ASD when compared with typically developed or other neurotypical children of similar age [0.4891 (95% CI = −2.4580; 1.4799), fixed effect; −0.1726 (95% CI = −14.2925; 7.5697), random effect]. Feeding and eating behavior reported a statistically significant difference between ASD children and adolescents with similar age group of typically developed controls [0.0433 (95% CI = −0.3531; 0.4398), fixed-effect; 0.3711 (95% CI = −3.0751; 3.8172), random effect]. CONCLUSION: The speech errors and feeding behavior were more consistent in ASD than in typically developed controls. The oral sensory challenges such as speech disorder and feeding behavior were more prevalent in ASD children and adolescents than in typically developed children and adolescents of the same age group. There was a significant lack in oral sensory-motor synchronization, incomplete motor planning, and poor oral neuromuscular coordination.