Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry · Nov 2012
Comparative StudyAre autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder different manifestations of one overarching disorder? Cognitive and symptom evidence from a clinical and population-based sample.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently co-occur. Given the heterogeneity of both disorders, several more homogeneous ASD-ADHD comorbidity subgroups may exist. The current study examined whether such subgroups exist, and whether their overlap or distinctiveness in associated comorbid symptoms and cognitive profiles gives support for a gradient overarching disorder hypothesis or a separate disorders hypothesis. ⋯ The overlapping cognitive deficits may be used to further unravel the shared etiological underpinnings of ASD and ADHD, and the nonoverlapping deficits may indicate why some children develop ADHD despite their enhanced risk for ASD. The two subtypes of children with both ASD and ADHD behavior will most likely benefit from different clinical approaches.