Conductive hearing loss in autistic, learning-disabled, and normal children.
Katz (1978) has suggested that mild, fluctuating conductive hearing loss due to middle-ear anomalies may account for the language and attention problems of learning-disabled children. His position was extended here to include autism. Normal, learning-disabled, and autistic children received repeated impedance measures over 5 weeks. A repeated-measures ANOVA of central tendency and variability values led to the conclusions that (1) fluctuating, negative middle-ear pressure greater than normal characterizes both autistic and learning-disabled children, (2) the negative pressure is greater in autistic than in learning-disabled children, and (3) the condition is typically bilateral for autistic children.
Smith
D E
DE
Department of Educational Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109.
Miller
S D
SD
Stewart
M
M
Walter
T L
TL
McConnell
J V
JV
D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests; D000293:Adolescent; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000150:complications*; D006314:Hearing Loss, Conductive / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male