Section 1: What Is Deaf+ at Home?

“Deaf+” refers to children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing and have one or more additional diagnoses, including autism, ADHD, CP, sensory disorders, seizures, feeding challenges, or medical complexities.

In this guide, we focus specifically on Deaf and Autistic children — because the combination of language-based disability and systems-based disability creates a uniquely complex profile that families must navigate 24/7.

Let’s Talk About Computers.

Think of neurotypical kids like MacBooks.

They mostly work out of the box. Some apps need updates. Some kids struggle with one program more than another. But overall, they were built for the environment they’re in. The school systems. The parenting books. The developmental milestones. All coded to their OS.

Now think of your child. They’re not a Mac.

They might be a Dell. An Alienware. A custom-built PC. They might have great memory but a weak cooling fan (hello ADHD). They might have input lag. Or boot up slowly. They might need entirely different drivers to run apps everyone else runs by default.

Autism is the operating system. Language is the software. You are the administrator.

And if your child is Deaf+?

They weren’t shipped with an audio function. So asking them to listen, repeat, or self-regulate through words is like asking a computer to process voice commands without a microphone, OS, or input setup.

How Comorbidities Change What You See

Not all Deaf autistic children look the same. Their “behavior” may vary based on:

• Type and timing of language access

• Nervous system regulation

• Co-occurring diagnoses (seizures, ADHD, sensory issues, trauma)

• Trauma history and institutional experiences

That’s why no one chart or level can fully describe them — but we can map out how autism levels and Deafness levels influence functioning in real-world settings like home, school, and the community.

Understanding Autism Clinical Levels

Level	Clinical Description	At Home	In School	In Public
Level 1	Requires support	Struggles with changes, transitions, social cues	Needs scaffolding for tasks, often misunderstood as “rude”	May mask or meltdown later
Level 2	Requires substantial support	Needs help regulating, daily visual support, slow-to-build routines	Requires 1:1 or structured classroom	May become dysregulated by noise, unpredictability
Level 3	Requires very substantial support	Non-speaking or delayed speech/sign, sensory system in constant overdrive, significant help with ADLs	Requires visual and tactile instruction, full support team	May bolt, freeze, stim, or meltdown with no clear “trigger” to outsiders

Note: These levels are clinical and can shift over time depending on environment, language access, stress load, and comorbid conditions.

Understanding Hearing Levels

Type	Decibel Range	At Home	In School	In Public
Mild	26–40 dB	May miss soft sounds or speech in background	Inconsistent response to voice	Appears distracted
Moderate	41–55 dB	May hear some speech with effort	Needs visual supports for group learning	May not understand announcements or overheads
Severe	71–90 dB	Doesn’t hear conversational speech	Requires sign, captions, interpreter	Needs consistent visual access
Profound	91+ dB	No access to spoken language without device	Sign language is primary mode	No response to voice in most settings

Even children with devices may have auditory processing delays, which make hearing harder to interpret, not just receive.

Language Deprivation Is a Form of Trauma

Without language, the brain struggles to:

• Categorize and remember experiences

• Predict what comes next

• Describe pain or feelings

• Feel safe in transitions

• Develop a sense of self

This shows up as:

• Meltdowns

• Shutdowns

• “Non-compliance”

• Social withdrawal

• Aggression

• Bizarre or delayed play

It’s not “just autism.” It’s a system running on zero data, trying to guess every input, every second.

Your Role Isn’t to Fix Your Child. It’s to Support the System.

You don’t need to force independence. You don’t need to make them “normal.” You need to:

• Provide predictable structure

• Build visual communication

• Create a regulation-friendly home

• Advocate for trauma-informed therapies

• Teach autonomy, not just obedience

Language is not an accessory. It’s the only way we install software and run programs on this computer.

Let’s build from there.