Sensory Processing Disorders in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and its Relationship to Social Maturity and Self-injurious Behavior from the Perspective of Trainers in Autism Centers.

Abstract

The aim of study is to determine the measurement of the level of sensory processing disorders in children with autism spectrum disorder and its relationship to Social Maturity and self-injurious behavior from the perspective of trainers in autism centers in Erbil Governorate. In this study, the descriptive correlational approach was utilized. After reviewing and examining previous studies, the researcher proceeded to prepare the criteria by utilizing the criteria of (Finland,1984) for social maturity and the criteria of (Hiam,2023)for self-injurious behavior. The study population consisted of behavioral therapy trainers of autistic children for the academic year of 2025–2024. The study sample consisted of(40) trainers for autistic children as follows:(29) females and (11) males. To extract psychometric properties (validity and reliability) of the instruments, statistical procedures including t-test were conducted using(SPSS)software to analyze the results: there is a significant statistical difference between the arithmetic mean and the hypothetical mean in favor of the arithmetic mean, which clarifies that the level of sensory processing disorders is high in autistic children according to their levels of involvement from perspective of the study sample. Regarding determining the level of relationship between variables, it was found that there is a strong Positive statistical correlation at the indicator level(p<.05) between sensory processes disorders and self-injurious. it was found that there is a strong Negative statistical correlation between sensory processes disorders and Social Maturity in children with autism. Given the results, the researcher made some recommendations for future studies.