Autism or Deafblindness?

The question of whether a child with combined hearing and vision loss also has autism may come up during IEP team discussions.  It is important to differentiate between the impact of sensory loss compared to neurodivergence.  It is possible that a person might have both, however, consideration needs to be made as to whether the student has access to be able to process information around them.  The following resources may help teams have a discussion about whether the observable traits are related to the child's limited access or whether the student might have autism.