Abstract
Early assessment data (starting at 9 months) for three children who were deaf or hard
of hearing and later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were analyzed.
The results from the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI) Words
and Gestures and the Child Development Inventory were used to develop three profiles
of children who were deaf or hard of hearing and had ASD. One child lacked expected
skills and language at ages 9 and 14 months. Another child lost skills and language
after 17 months. The third child had results usually within or above the average range
until 3 years of age. However, his age quotient decreased for MacArthur-Bates CDI:
Words and Gestures Words Expressed and the Child Development Inventory: Social to
significantly below the normal range. Although it can be difficult to diagnose the
co-occurrence of ASD and deafness, there were early warning signs for these children.
Keywords
Autism - deaf - hard of hearing - children - developmental assessment - screening
