VIDBE-Q 2026 Volume 71 Issue 3
Join us Wednesday September 23rd at 4 pm EST for a new webinar!
Understanding Co-Occurring Autism and Visual Impairment:
Supporting Families & Children with Complex Diagnoses
CEC Members – Free Non-Members - $20 + Eventbrite Fee
Group Rate - $200 + Eventbrite Fee
Register here
The co-occurrence of autism and visual impairment (ASD+VI) in children across the United
States is a complex disability diagnosis requiring carefully thought-out practices across
transdisciplinary stakeholders to provide effective family-informed services. In this presentation,
lived experiences of parents of children with ASD+VI will be shared. Dr. Saurym Quezada, an
autism and VI researcher, will present outcomes from a national study on parents of children
with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and visual impairment (VI) recounting their experiences
navigating multiple systems to secure a diagnosis and services for co-occurring ASD and VI.
This session emphasizes parental experiences with the goal of describing the complications of
identifying supports for children and their families navigating a complex and understudied
diagnosis. We share recommendations for practice as provided by these stakeholders to inform
the field of potentially more effective transdisciplinary models of family coordinated care
systems.
Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will identify current processes for ASD and VI services across
assessment, diagnosis, and education practices.
2. Participants will understand the impact of current practices on families of
children with ASD and VI and the role they play in providing holistic family
services.
3. Participants will evaluate parent-reported recommendations for family-
informed services.
Featured Speaker
Saurym Quezada, Ph.D.
Florida State University, Adjunct
Lighthouse of Broward for the Blind, Instructor
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