Mental Health Problems In Autism Spectrum Disorders

Background:

Children and adults, diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) can suffer from other mental health problems. However, the exact extent of overlapping between autism and mental health problems is not very clear. There is lack of information about the exact prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity in children and adults with autism.  

Objectives:

To identify and describe comorbidity of mental health problems in the ASD population.

Methods:

Literature review will be conducted, taking into account that the majority of the evidence comes from case reports and small studies with large epidemiological studies still lacking. 

Results:

People with autistic disorders are more likely to have additional conditions emerging in the developmental period (such as ADHD and personality disorders) as well as mental health problems acquired later in life (such as depression, anxiety or psychotic illness). Anxiety and depression are probably the most common lifetime diagnosis, reaching rates up to 44% and 25% respectively.

Conclusions:

Accurate and reliable diagnosis of mental health problems in people with autism is of major importance as comorbid disorders may cause significant impairment and additional burden of illness both on them and their families. Furthermore these difficulties can jeopardize the placement of the child or adult in educational or community settings respectively. While treatment of comorbid mental disorders does not cure underlying autistic symptoms, it often results in a substantial degree of improvement in the level of functioning and the quality of life of the affected person. The assessment of mental health problems in people with autism is particularly important as there is no evidence that individuals with autism spectrum disorders respond less well to treatments for these comorbid problems than do those without a diagnosis in the autism spectrum.