UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #1144

Overall Research Project Description The research project is a grant-funded convergent mixed methods study examining the assessment, diagnosis, and service experiences of children with profound autism spectrum disorder (P-ASD) and visual impairment (VI) in the United States. A preliminary pilot study of children experiencing a visual impairment in combination with autism spectrum disorder (ASD+VI) found that there is a gap of about five years between an initial diagnosis of VI and a subsequent diagnosis of ASD in the state of Florida (Quezada et al., In Preparation) and consequently many of these children are not receiving timely and appropriate early intervention services, ultimately impacting school readiness and life outcomes. This is particularly troublesome for children with P-ASD who have complex communication and extensive support needs. A lack of vision and symptoms of ASD impede all aspects of development (Hughes et al., 2023a, 2023b; NASEM, 2016; Rainey et al., 2016) and the co-occurrence of the two disabilities is well-documented (de Verdier et al., 2018; Jure et al., 2016; Wrzensinka et al., 2017) including common manifestations in children born with complex neurological conditions, a history of early brain damage (Chokron et al., 2021), and/or the presence of other disabilities (Kiani et al., 2019). To properly support these students, a timely diagnosis of the dual condition is necessary. The project will gather national survey data and narrative interviews from parents to identify factors influencing the diagnostic process and subsequent educational services of children with P-ASD+VI in the US to inform future research, policy, and practice regarding equitable access to appropriate early intervention therapies and services.