Diagnostic Overshadowing...
- Elyza Polsky
- Mar 29, 2023
- 1 min read
When a student has atypical hearing and autism, the symptoms or characteristics of the initially diagnosed challenge can sometimes mask the diagnosis of the other - this is known as diagnostic overshadowing. The term diagnostic overshadowing was first coined in 1982 by researchers Reiss, Levitan and Szyszko. They noted that clinicians’ judgements were often affected by the symptoms of the individual’s primary psychopathology which negatively impacted the detection of the additional or secondary disorder.
Characteristics shared by both hearing loss and ASD can make it difficult to diagnose the disorders.In the case of autism (ASD) and deaf/hard of hearing (DHH), diagnostic overshadowing can exist in a variety of situations. It can occur…
in a clinical or diagnostic setting where the professional (doctor, psychologist, speech language pathologist, audiologist or other) does not diagnose or pursue the investigation of the secondary disorder because of the primary one
in educational settings where professionals respond to a student and implement a plan based on the identified disorder and assume that behaviors noted are a result of that disorder
in family situations where parents may feel more comfortable with accepting the diagnosis of one disorder over the other, for example, they may be ready to acknowledge a hearing loss which can be treated with hearing technology and educational supports as opposed to an ASD diagnosis
Reiss, S., Levitan, G. W., & Szyszko, J. (1982). Emotional disturbance and mental retardation: diagnostic overshadowing. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 86(6), 567–574.
Comments