LAUSR

Highlights • fMRI was used to examine the brain mechanisms through which tactile stimuli disrupt processing of social cues in youth with ASD.• Tactile stimuli caused up-regulation of auditory language areas in TD youth but decreases in these areas in ASD youth.• Directing attention to social cues mitigated the effect of the sensory distracter so that activation was sustained in auditory-language areas.• Attentional direction to social cues was associated with increases in medial prefrontal cortex for ASD youth.• Severity of sensory over-responsivity modulated the effect of the distracter and attentional direction on brain processing of social cues.