Autism assessment for deaf children and young people: adaptations and recommendations

Individuals with co-occurring deafness and autism represent a substantial yet underserved clinical population, and autism assessment in deaf children and young people (DCYP) remains a complex process. This scoping review mapped screening and assessment phase-specific and broader adaptations and recommendations for autism assessment of DCYP. Systematic database searches initially yielded 851 records, of which 17 primary studies published between 2010 and 2025 met inclusion criteria. Articles featured autistic and non-autistic children, parents/family units and professionals, across three countries (UK = 7, US = 9, Brazil = 1) and used quantitative (n = 13) and qualitative approaches (n = 4). Our findings are presented as three themes: (i) screening, (ii) assessment, and (iii) broader process-level adaptations or recommendations. Most studies focused on the assessment phase, particularly adaptations of gold-standard tools for autism assessment in hearing children. The review concludes with recommendations for future exploration, such as a review of post-autism diagnosis support for DCYP.