Grant: Operating Grant: ECRs in Human Development, Child and Youth Health

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects children's ability to communicate and interact socially. Almost 95% of autistic people experience unusual sensations. For example, some are very sensitive to elements of everyday life, like gentle touch and textures of food or clothing, while others have reduced pain sensitivity, which can lead to them hurting themselves without meaning to. Despite their prevalence and impact, we know little about what causes these sensory differences, meaning we have limited treatment options. Signals like touch and pain enter the nervous system through sensory neurons of the spinal cord, yet the role of this critical part of the nervous system in children with ASD remains unexplored. This project focuses entirely on autistic individuals who experience overwhelming sensory symptoms, including abnormal pain or touch responses. We will use a patient's donated skin cells from a simple cheek swab to create specialized 'stem' cells that we can grow into mini, lab-grown spinal cords called 'organoids. We will then examine how sensory nerves develop in these organoids, how they communicate, and why their responses differ in children with autism. Our ultimate goal is to identify new treatments for sensory processing differences. This patient-specific approach will directly examine where sensory processing goes wrong and provide a new method to find novel therapies that specifically treat sensory dysfunctions, ultimately improving the quality of life for children with ASD and their families.