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J Autism Dev Disord (2012) 42:20272037 DOI 10.1007/s10803-012-1452-9
ORIGINAL PAPER
Deaf Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Christen A. Szymanski Patrick J. Brice
Kay H. Lam Sue A. Hotto
Published online: 31 January 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012
Abstract Epidemiological studies investigating the prevalence of autism have increased in recent years, within the United States and abroad. However, statistics as to how many of those children may also have a comorbid hearing loss is lacking. The prevalence of school-administrator reported diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (clinical diagnosis [DSM-IV] and/or IDEA classication) among children with hearing loss in the US was estimated from the 20092010 Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and Youth conducted by the Gallaudet Research Institute. Results indicate that during the 20092010 school year 1 in 59 children (specically 8-year olds) with hearing loss were also receiving services for autism; considerably higher, than reported national estimates of 1 in 91 (Kogan et al. in Pediatrics 124(4):18, 2009) and 1 in 110 (CDC 2007) for hearing children. Signicantly more children with profound hearing loss had a comorbid diagnosis of autism than those with milder forms of hearing loss. These results are discussed, while highlighting the need for increased awareness and research in a population that has thus far received little services or attention.
Keywords Autism Hearing loss Deaf Annual Survey
Introduction
During the 1970s blindness, deafness or auditory deprivation and ear infections were suggested as possible causes of autism (Hayes and Gordon 1977; Collins and Carney 2007; Smith et al. 1988). This belief was often rooted in older research that suggested deafness or hearing loss led to social isolation, emotional distress, psychological disorders, and language difculties (Myklebust 1960). A possible relationship between autism and deafness was hypothesized due to striking similarities in children with rubella who often had a concomitant hearing loss and those with autism who did not have hearing loss (Chess 1977). Others have suggested that hearing loss may account for the language decits and attentional challenges in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) (Smith et al. 1988).
Higher rates of autism have been reported to occur in children with hearing loss when compared to their typically developing hearing peers (e.g., Jure et al. 1991; Gordon 1991; Rosenhall et...