/Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD)Hearing Abnormalities Study

Does Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD)Show Any Degree of Hearing Abnormalities? :A Preliminary Study

Co morbidity rates of hearing loss in children with autism spectrum disorder are high and increasing.

Investigators are aiming to:

1. evaluate peripheral auditory and brain stem auditory function in children with autism spectrum disorder.
2. compare communication capabilities in autistic children having hearing abnormalities and autistic children with normal hearing.

Full audiological evaluation is carried out to all participants including:

• pure tone and speech audiometry.
• Tympanometry and acoustic reflex threshold evaluation.
• Threshold auditory brain stem response for threshold determination in non co operative children not respond to pure tone,speech audiometry.
• Auditory brain stem response for neuro-otologic diagnosis.
• Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions in children proved to have normal hearing to detect minimal cochlear affection .
• Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions with contralateral masking. Communication evaluation is carried out to all participants using arabic language test(kotby et al,1995).

Investigators use childhood autism rating scale for (CARS) for diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Children aged 3-12 years diagnosed to have mild to moderate autism spectrum disorder diagnosed by childhood autism spectrum disorder(CARS 35% or less)

Exclusion Criteria:

• children with otitis media with effusion.
• Associated neurological deficit .