A 13-year-old adolescent male was referred for an interdisciplinary autism assessment. His complex medical history included a traumatic delivery (with drop in heartrate and nuchal cord), neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, diagnosis of profound congenital hearing loss, diminished bile ducts on liver biopsy at 1 month of age, and a seizure disorder....
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Audiologists working with deaf children should be alert to behavioral signs that could indicate co-occurring autism, and routinely facilitate referral to a multidisciplinary team experienced in dual diagnosis of deafness and autism spectrum disorder.
Delayed autism diagnosis in deaf children leads to missed early interventions; audiologists are often primary contacts and can play a pivotal role in earlier identification and referral.
- 01Autism spectrum disorder can be significantly delayed in diagnosis when a child is also deaf.
- 02Overlapping behavioral signs of deafness and autism complicate standard diagnostic tools.
- 03Case involves a 13-year-old deaf adolescent with a complex medical history.
- 04Highlights the need for adapted autism assessment protocols for the deaf population.
- 05Early multidisciplinary evaluation is critical to avoid missed or delayed diagnoses.
Deafness can mask autism symptoms, leading to significant delays in autism diagnosis in deaf adolescents.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42670471
- DOI
- 10.1155/crps/8974477.
- Journal
- Case Reports in Psychiatry
- Publication type
- case_report
- Evidence level
- 4
- Sample size
- 1
- Population
- A 13-year-old deaf adolescent with delayed autism spectrum disorder diagnosis
- Intervention
- Autism assessment and diagnosis in the context of deafness
Primary outcomes
Diagnostic timeline and factors contributing to delayed autism diagnosis; Clinical presentation of autism in a deaf adolescent