By Traci Pedersen Associate News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on June 8, 2013
Nearly 30 percent of young children with autism also have symptoms of ADHD a rate thats three times greater than the general population, according to a new study published in the journal Autism.
For the study, researchers asked parents of children (ages 4-8) enrolled in a community-based study of child development about symptoms of attention and hyperactivity: whether or not children could wait their turn, interrupted others who were speaking, fiddled with things during meals or could not slow down, for example.
Out of the 62 children diagnosed with autism, 18 (29 percent) also showed signs of ADHD and all were boys. The children with both conditions tended to have more problems with learning and socializing than children who had autism alone.
In a child [with autism] who has great difficulties with attention, or hyperactivity or both, you really have to layer in another level of intervention strategies for them, said study author Rebecca Landa, Ph.D., director of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders at the Kennedy Krieger Institute.
The researchers noted that treating symptoms of ADHD may benefit children if they arent making progress with autism treatment programs alone, which often require extended focus on specific skills.
An earlier study of slightly older children found that 31 percent of children had the two disorders together.
We dont know the cause for ADHD in most cases, said Dr. Andrew Adesman, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Steven and Alexandra Cohen Childrens Medical Center, who was not involved in the study.
We dont know the cause of autism in most cases. Its not surprising that something thats going to affect the brain and cause one developmental outcome may also cause a second developmental outcome.
Whats good about this study is that they went to the trouble to look at who met diagnostic criteria and what was different about those children, said Dr. Patty Manning-Courtney, director of the Kelly OLeary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center.
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Nearly 1 in 3 Kids with Autism Have ADHD Symptoms