Who they are
Marieke Werkman is a doctoral researcher at Applied Health Research (TGO), UMCG, who conducted the peer-reviewed research that constitutes some of the most important empirical evidence in this wiki. Her work on sensory processing in autistic people with intellectual disabilities directly addresses the population that most sensory research ignores — and her findings challenge assumptions that run through the field.
Werkman’s research was conducted within the SGL project but her publications stand on their own merit as significant contributions to the literature.
Key contributions
Werkman (2020): The cognitive ability paradox
Werkman’s 2020 publication produced one of the most counter-intuitive findings: in autistic people with intellectual disability, higher cognitive abilities are associated with more emotional and behavioural problems when atypical sensory processing is present.
This contradicts intuitive expectations. Higher cognitive ability might help recognise sensory distress but not manage it, placing people in the worst position. Alternatively, environments for “higher-functioning” people demand more sensory adaptation because cognitive abilities lead others to expect more tolerance.
This has direct service design implications: cognitive ability shouldn’t ration sensory support. “Higher-functioning” people may need accommodations as much as or more than others. See Sensory processing in autism and intellectual disability for broader context.
Werkman (2022): The systematic review
Werkman’s 2022 systematic review examined sensory processing in autistic people with intellectual disability, addressing the research gap this wiki repeatedly flags. It found that hyporesponsivity is elevated with intellectual disability, and fine-grained analysis reveals effects that gross scales miss.
Research using only total scores on instruments like the Sensory Profile may fail to detect specific sensory patterns in autism-plus-ID. Research needs to move beyond summary scores to pattern-level analysis.
Critical assessment
Werkman’s studies have relatively small sample sizes, as is typical for research in this specific population — autistic people with intellectual disability are difficult to recruit and assess. The findings are robust within their samples but need replication.
The review documented the research gap as much as it filled it. The central finding—most sensory processing research excludes people with intellectual disability—is itself the most important result.
Selected works
- Werkman, M. et al. (2020). Peer-reviewed publication on cognitive abilities and sensory processing in autism with intellectual disability. See Werkman 2020 for the wiki’s paper summary.
- Werkman, M. et al. (2022). Systematic review of sensory processing in autism with intellectual disability. See Werkman 2022 systematic review for the wiki’s paper summary.
Last reviewed
2026-04-15