CO-morbidity in Autism and Epilepsy

                                                             

Dr Ozonoff in the video emphasized that comorbidty should be considered whenever there are signs of psychiatric problems that are not part of ASD; when there are marked changes in functioning from baseline, or an existing problem is markedly exacerbated; or when an individual with an ASD does not respond as expected to interventions that traditionally effective.
     Assessment of comorbidity is inherently complex. Although differential diagnosis is difficult, it is essential, as treatment of the ASD symptoms alone will usually not result in improvement in the other behavioral or emotional problems that coexist.
   Among the individuals that I work with at the DayHab.; epilepsy is quite common in autism spectrum disorders and it is increasingly recognized as an additional clinical problem. Coexistence of autism and seizure disorder was evaluated among the individuals at the DayHab. and found to be a  prevalence of about 30%. There arose the question of what could be the underlying causes  of impulsive behaviors and cognitive impairment for individuals affected by autism and epilepsy. Is the seizure disorder worsening the autistic symptoms? How could we effectively treat the co-occurance of these problems?
     It is hope that accurate identification of the primary and secondary problems that affect the functioning of individuals with ASD will result in improved planning and treatment outcomes.