Neuropsychiatric comorbidities in autism spectrum disorders without intellectual disability

ABSTRACT

Epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder tend to co-occur in the population with intellectual disability. However, in the autistic population without intellectual disability, the prevalence of epilepsy is also much greater than in the general population. The special health needs in children having autism spectrum disorder without intellectual disability, namely those with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder have become recognized in recent years, yet comorbid neuropsychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, attention-defi cit/hyperactivity disorder, and epilepsy still sometimes remain undiagnosed and untreated. Heightened awareness of such comorbidities will help these children to access appropriate treatment. Whether the epilepsy associated with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder is the same or different from that associated with intellectual disability, and whether the autistic profi le associated with epilepsy in high-functioning autism spectrum disorder is the same or different from that without epilepsy, should be answered by future studies.