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Symptoms of Autism Among Children with Congenital Deafblindness

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Abstract

Associations between congenital deafness or blindness and autism have been found. The main consequences of congenital sensory impairment, being barriers for communication, language and social interaction development, may lead to symptoms of autism. To date only few studies have been reported concerning individuals with congenital deafblindness. This study examines symptoms of autism among 71 children with congenital deafblindness using the Autism Behavior Checklist. The cohort of children with congenital deafblindness was found to have symptoms of autism on a level similar to children with another developmental disorder than autism for example intellectual disability. No association was found between severity of congenital sensory impairment and severity or type of symptoms of autism.

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Acknowledgment

No Grants or financial support was given to this study. The author would like to thanks parents and children for participation in the study and the deafblind consultants for data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 2A, 1353, Copenhagen K, Denmark

    Jesper Dammeyer

  2. Center for Deafblindness and Hearing Impairment, Aalborg, Denmark

    Jesper Dammeyer

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  1. Jesper Dammeyer
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Correspondence to Jesper Dammeyer.

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Dammeyer, J. Symptoms of Autism Among Children with Congenital Deafblindness. J Autism Dev Disord 44, 1095–1102 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1967-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1967-8

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