Autism and hearing impairments

Abstract

Relationship between autism and deafness is widely considered in terms of differential diagnosis. However, possible comorbidity rates may be higher than expected, which means that these two disorders should not be seen as mutually excluded. On the contrary, deaf children are diagnosed more often with an autistic disorder than what is currently considered the prevalence rate. Co-occurrence of autism and hearing impairment might be difficult for diagnosing which leads to either condition being missed or diagnosed late. This has implication for providing an adequate treatment and school opportunities.

Veza između autizma i gluvoće uglavnom se razmatra sa aspekta diferencijalne dijagnostike. Međutim, eventualni komorbiditet može biti i veći od očekivanog, što znači da ova dva poremećaja nisu međusobno isključiva. Naprotiv, autizam se kod gluve dece dijagnostikuje mnogo češće nego što je njegova prevalencija u opštoj populaciji. Istovremena pojava autizma i gluvoće teško se dijagnostikuje što dovodi do toga da se jedan poremećaj obično previdi ili se, pak, dijagnoza postavlja sa velikim zakašnjenjem. Ovakvo stanje ima negativne posledice na obezbeđivanje adekvatnog tretmana i modela školovanja.