Affiliations: Department of Psychiatry, Shiraz University of Medical
Sciences, Hafez Hospital, Shiraz, Iran | Research Center for Psychiatry and Behavioral
Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Hafez Hospital, Shiraz,
Iran
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Ahmad Ghanizadeh, Department of
Psychiatry, Research Center for Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Hafez
Hospital, Shiraz, Iran. Tel./Fax: +98 711 627 93 19; E-mail:
ghanizad@sina.tums.ac.ir; ghanizadeha@hotmail.com
Abstract: Objectives: 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.
