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Brief Report: Judging Pain Intensity in Children with Autism Undergoing Venepuncture: The Influence of Facial Activity

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Abstract

The biasing effect of pain sensitivity information and the impact of facial activity on observers’ judgements of pain intensity of children with autism were examined. Observers received information that pain experience in children with autism is either the same as, more intense than, or less intense than children without autism. After viewing six video clips of children with autism undergoing venepuncture, observers estimated pain intensity using a visual analogue scale. Facial activity as coded by Chambers et al. (Child Facial Action Coding System Revised Manual, 1996) had a significant impact on observers’ estimates of pain intensity; pain sensitivity information did not. These results have important implications for the assessment and management of pain in children with autism.

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Acknowledgements

Rami Nader was supported by a postgraduate award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Dr. Craig was supported by a grant form the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and a CIHR Senior Investigator Award. This research was done as part of the first author’s undergraduate thesis requirement for her honours degree in Psychology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, The University of British Columbia, 2125 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z4

    Rosemary L. Messmer, Rami Nader & Kenneth D. Craig

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  1. Rosemary L. Messmer
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  2. Rami Nader
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  3. Kenneth D. Craig
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Correspondence to Rosemary L. Messmer.

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Messmer, R.L., Nader, R. & Craig, K.D. Brief Report: Judging Pain Intensity in Children with Autism Undergoing Venepuncture: The Influence of Facial Activity. J Autism Dev Disord 38, 1391–1394 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0511-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0511-0

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