Resources for Deaf people with SI needs
This page includes some resources and information that might be useful for professionals supporting Deaf individuals where sensory integration needs may be impacting participation and engagement.
Please be aware that we cannot be held responsible for the content of external websites and links, and the inclusion of links to external organisations does not imply endorsement or recommendation of that organisation more generally. You must ALWAYS exercise clinical judgement about the resources you use, and be able to demonstrate a clear clinical rationale for their use.
Please let me know if any links are broken or missing.
Selected research papers
Prevalence and background information for Deafness and additional needs
Szymanski, C.A., Brice, P.J., Lam, K.H. et al. Deaf Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 42, 2027–2037 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1452-9
Fitzpatrick, E. M., Lambert, L., Whittingham, J., & Leblanc, E. (2014). Examination of characteristics and management of children with hearing loss and autism spectrum disorders. International Journal of Audiology, 53(9), 577–586. https://doi.org/10.3109/14992027.2014.903338
Intersectionality and Deafness
Ahmad, W. I., Atkin, K., & Jones, L. (2002). Being deaf and being other things: young Asian people negotiating identities. Social science & medicine (1982), 55(10), 1757–1769. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0277-9536(01)00308-2
Assessment and differential diagnosis
McFayden TC, Culbertson S, DeRamus M, Kramer C, Roush J, Mankowski J. Assessing Autism in Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing Youths: Interdisciplinary Teams, COVID Considerations, and Future Directions. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2023 Nov;18(6):1492-1507. doi: 10.1177/17456916231178711. Epub 2023 Jun 14. PMID: 37314896; PMCID: PMC10271818.
Wright, B., Phillips, H., Allgar, V., Sweetman, J., Hodkinson, R., Hayward, E., Ralph-Lewis, A., Teige, C., Bland, M., & Le Couteur, A. (2021). Adapting and validating the Autism Diagnostic Interview - Revised for use with deaf children and young people. Autism, 26(2), 446-459. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613211029116 (Original work published 2022)
Professionals supporting Deaf plus individuals
Brenman, N.F., Hiddinga, A. & Wright, B. Intersecting Cultures in Deaf Mental Health: An Ethnographic Study of NHS Professionals Diagnosing Autism in D/deaf Children. Cult Med Psychiatry 41, 431–452 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11013-017-9526-y
Borders, C. M., Jones Bock, S., & Probst, K. M. (2016). A Review of Educational Practices for Deaf/Hard of Hearing Students with Comorbid Autism. Deafness & Education International, 18(4), 189–205. https://doi.org/10.1080/14643154.2016.1255416
Deafness and sensory integration
Koester, A. C., Mailloux, Z., Coleman, G. G., Mori, A. B., Paul, S. M., Blanche, E., Muhs, J. A., Lim, D., & Cermak, S. A. (2014). Sensory integration functions of children with cochlear implants. The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association, 68(5), 562–569. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2014.012187
Alkhamra, R. A., & Abu-Dahab, S. M. N. (2020). Sensory processing disorders in children with hearing impairment: Implications for multidisciplinary approach and early intervention. International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology, 136, 110154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2020.110154
Tekin Dal, B., Çetin, B., Şimşek, E. N., & Bumin, G. (2024). Exploring sensory processing abilities in adults with acquired hearing loss. The Journal of laryngology and otology, 138(5), 496–502. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022215123001779
Deafness and motor skills/coordination
Shield, A., Knapke, K., Henry, M., Srinivasan, S., & Bhat, A. (2017). Impaired praxis in gesture imitation by deaf children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism & Developmental Language Impairments, 2. https://doi.org/10.1177/2396941517745674 (Original work published 2017)
Bhat, A. N., Srinivasan, S. M., Woxholdt, C., & Shield, A. (2016). Differences in praxis performance and receptive language during fingerspelling between deaf children with and without autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 22(3), 271-282. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361316672179 (Original work published 2018)