Vicarious ratings of social touch, the effect of age and autistic traits

Tactile sensitivities are common in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Psychophysically, slow, gentle stroking touch is typically rated as more pleasant than faster or slower touch. Vicarious ratings of social touch results in a similar pattern of velocity dependent hedonic ratings as directly felt touch. Here we investigated whether adults and children’s vicarious ratings vary according to ASD diagnosis and self-reported autistic traits. Adults’ scoring high on the AQ rated stroking touch on the palm as less pleasant than a Low AQ group. However, in contrast to our hypothesis, we did not find any effect of ASD diagnosis on children’s touch ratings despite parental reports highlighting significant somatosensory sensitivities. These results are discussed in terms of underpinning sensory and cognitive factors.