title: Childhood autism and auditory system abnormalities.
abstract: Hearing disorders are common among children with autism, ranging from peripheral and sensorineural hearing deficit or loss to auditory hypersensitivity with bizarre reactions to sounds. The auditory abnormalities and consequent sensory deprivation exacerbate the communication deficit of autism, and early auditory assessment holds an important place in the planning of intervention and the overall prognosis of patients. Physiologic, pathologic, imaging, and neurochemical studies have revealed an array of aberrations in the perception and processing of the audiologic stimuli, including (among others) maturational defects, atypical lateralization, and serotonin dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Communication Disabilities, 1st ENT Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54622 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Magdalini
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hitoglou
authors.forename: Athina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ververi
authors.forename: Alexandros
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Antoniadis
authors.forename: Dimitrios I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Zafeiriou
mesh_terms: D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000502:physiology; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans