Frequency of symptoms of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder in autistic children
BACKGROUND: Both DSM-IV and the ICD-10 exclude diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when autism diagnostic is present. Some authors suggest, however, that autism can be associated to other comorbidity amongst which the ADHD. OBJECTIVE: To estimate prevalence of ADHD in children with autism. METHOD: Children were selected from a specialized school, all of then had previous diagnosis or diagnostic suspicion of autism. The Brazilian version of the KIDDIE-SADS PL was applied to parents for diagnostic of ADHD. DSM-IV diagnostic of autism was based on parents' interview and child observation. RESULTS: 32 children were included in the study. Results show that 53.1% of the ASD child had ADHD symptoms enough to fulfill DSM-IV diagnostic criteria, whereas 56.9% did not fulfill DSM-IV criteria for ADHD. CONCLUSION: Results suggest a high frequency of ADHD symptoms in ASD patients. Elucidating if we are facing a comorbity or an autism distinct phenotype can contribute for a more adjusted pharmacotherapy approach for these children.
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Academia Brasileira de Neurologia - ABNEURO
2010
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| Online Access: | http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2010000100022 |
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