Sensory-Friendly Emergency Department Visit for Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder—A Scoping Review

Abstract

Our goal was to develop non-pharmacologic strategies for addressing sensory challenges that patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face in emergency departments (EDs). Search of five databases for articles written in English and published since 1980 returned 816 citations, of which 28 papers were selected for review. All studies were published in the last nine years, with 92.85% (n = 26) conducted in North America. We developed 26 consolidated strategies, encompassing five major domains, including guiding principles, care processes, people (behavior of staff members), objects, and places (facility design). Sensory-friendly care in ED requires an integrative approach and its success depends on guiding principles that tie various aspects of care and distinguishes ASD care from non-ASD care.