The Co-occurrence of ASD and ADHD in Pediatric Population and the Role of Clinicians and Parents in the Management of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Abstract

Autism is a pervasive developmental disease (PDD) that significantly impacts a child’s development in three domains: language, social interaction, and repetitive and stereotyped behavior. Whereas ADHD is one of the most typical neurodevelopmental diseases and is defined as the existence of impairment symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity that begin before the age of twelve. In spite of the growing interest in co-occurring ADHD and ASD, very little study has been done on the subject. The current multi-center prospective observational study aims to investigate the occurrence of ADHD in ASD patients and assess the treatment diagnostic patterns of clinicians for ADHD and ASD in children as well as the role of parents in symptomatic management of their children. The first part has focused on the study subjects (children) for which screening tool of ADHD was employed. Second is the assessment of parents for their impact on improvement in the symptoms of the diseases on their children. This part is completed by using questions and the final part was the assessment of clinicians for evaluation of their diagnostic parameters. The result of this study shows the greater incidence of co-occurrence and that too related with the demographics of parents. It is anticipated that this study would point clinicians and parents in the direction of dimensional ways to identifying impairment that may be helpful in situations with co-occurring ADHD and ASD.