There are many comorbid disorders associated with autism spectrum disorders and Asperger's Syndrome. The autistic spectrum, or autism spectrum, is the idea that autism is a developmental and behavioral syndrome that results from certain combinations of traits. ... Asperger described his patients as little professors. Aspergers syndrome (AS, or the more common shorthand Aspergers), is characterized as one of the five pervasive developmental disorders, and is commonly referred to as a form of high functioning autism. ...

Depression and anxiety disorders

Depression and its cousin, anxiety, may be the most common comorbid disorders accompanying autism, affecting over half of all people with Asperger's. Many times the depression is caused more by society's attitudes and behaviors toward autistics than by the autism itself. Depression might also be related to Seasonal Affective Disorder. Jump to: navigation, search Clinical depression is a health condition of depression with mental and physical components reaching criteria generally accepted by clinicians. ... Jump to: navigation, search Anxiety is a complex combination of the feeling of fear, apprehension and worry often accompanied by physical sensations such as palpitations, chest pain and/or shortness of breath. ... Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is an affective, or mood disorder. ...

People with AS attempt suicide at a staggeringly high rate in comparison to the general population, although whether this is due to AS itself or to depression comorbid to AS is a matter of debate.

Hyperactivity and attention abnormalities

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most commonly diagnosed and controversial mental disorders among children, and is increasingly recognized as afflicting adults as well. Its symptoms include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. According to sources such as the CDC, the causes are currently unknown, and it is thought that the term covers a variety of related disorders. There is no single medical test that can accurately diagnose ADHD, though there are assessment tools. Jump to: navigation, search Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders among children, and may be diagnosed in adults, where it is often referred to as adult attention-deficit disorder (AADD) if symptoms were present in childhood (even if undiagnosed in childhood). ... The Scream, the famous painting commonly thought of as depicting the experience of mental illness. ... WHY IS THE CDC headquartered in Atlanta? Who made this decision? Was it political? Was there a powerful senator/politician? PLease answer!! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, is recognized as the lead United States agency for protecting the public health and safety of people... Diagnosis (from the Greek words dia = by and gnosis = knowledge) is the process of identifying a disease by its signs, symptoms and results of various diagnostic procedures. ...

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by recurrent obsessional thoughts or compulsive acts.

Obsessional thoughts are ideas, images or impulses that enter the individual's mind again and again in a stereotyped form. They are almost invariably distressing (because they are violent or obscene, or simply because they are perceived as senseless) and the sufferer often tries, unsuccessfully, to resist them. They are, however, recognized as the individual's own thoughts, even though they are involuntary and often repugnant.

Compulsive acts or rituals are stereotyped behaviours that are repeated again and again. They are not inherently enjoyable, nor do they result in the completion of inherently useful tasks.

It must be recognized that this is different from the obsessions that are a feature of autistic spectrum disorders in that the obsessions are not enjoyable or in any way beneficial, which can sometimes be the case with autism, for instance an obsession to study an interest. Autistic spectrum, autism spectrum, autistic spectrum disorders, autism spectrum disorders and ASD are all synonymous designations for the more official terminology in DSM-IV and ICD-10, where the term Pervasive Developmental Disorders, (PDD) is being used. ... Jump to: navigation, search Autism is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests itself in markedly abnormal social interaction, communication ability, patterns of interests, and patterns of behavior. ...

Seizures

One in four autistic children develops seizures, often starting either in early childhood or adolescence. Seizures, caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain, can produce a temporary loss of consciousness (a "blackout"), a body convulsion, unusual movements, or staring spells. Sometimes a contributing factor is a lack of sleep or a high fever. An EEG can help confirm the seizure's presence. Seizures (or convulsions) are temporary alterations in brain function expressing themselves into a changed mental state, tonic or clonic movements and various other symptoms. ... Electroencephalography is the neurophysiologic exploration of the electrical activity of the brain by the application of electrodes to the scalp. ...

In most cases, seizures can be controlled by a number of medicines called anticonvulsants. The dosage of the medication should be adjusted carefully so that the least possible amount of medication will be used to be effective. The anticonvulsants, sometimes also called antiepileptics, belong to a diverse group of pharmaceuticals used in prevention of the occurrence of epileptic seizures. ...

Sensory problems

For more details on this topic, see Sensory Integration Dysfunction.

When children's perceptions are not hyperacute, they can process and learn from sensory input. On the other hand, if sensory information is faulty, the child's experiences of the world can be confusing. Many autistic children are highly attuned or even painfully sensitive to certain sounds, textures, tastes, and smells. Some children find the feel of clothes touching their skin almost unbearable. Some sounds—a vacuum cleaner, a ringing telephone, a sudden storm, even the sound of waves lapping the shoreline—will cause these children to cover their ears and scream. This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ...

In autism, the brain seems unable to balance the senses appropriately. Some autistic children are oblivious to extreme cold or pain. An autistic child may fall and break an arm, yet never cry. Another may bash his head against a wall and not wince, but a light touch may make the child scream with alarm. The brain seems to not be able to screen out unimportant stimuli while admitting what is important, so the autistic may have to deal with overwhelming amounts of sensory input day and night. The child who doesn't cry may feel pain, but his brain may not connect the pain to the need for making sounds.

Autistic babies are often observed to stiffen when held. This is due to the sensory overload discussed above, and the stiffening is a coping mechanism which also occurs in adults. Because sensory overload occurs from birth, the coping behaviour is notable as one of the earliest observable symptoms of autism. However, it is not universal among autistics. There is great variation in the susceptibility to sensory overload.

Mental retardation

Many autistic children have some degree of mental impairment. When tested, some areas of ability may be normal or superior, while others may be especially weak. For example, an autistic child may do well on the parts of the test that measure visual skills but earn low scores on the language subtests. Jump to: navigation, search Mental retardation (also called mental handicap and, as defined by the UK Mental Health Act (1983), mental impairment and severe mental impairment) is a term for a pattern of persistently slow learning of basic motor and language skills (milestones) during childhood, and a significantly below-normal...

Mental retardation isn't a mandatory feature of autism. In fact, most people with autism have at least "normal" results on intelligence test. Some are Mensa members. IQ test results are much more uneven in the sub-categories than normal, frequently showing a peak in visuo-spatial tasks or rote memory. Because of this an autistic may have much more skill in doing certain things than his IQ seems to indicate, and when taken to the extreme it is called being an autistic savant. Jump to: navigation, search Mensa is an organization for people with high IQs. ... IQ redirects here; for other uses of that term, see IQ (disambiguation). ... This article is about savant mental abilities. ...

Fragile X syndrome

Fragile X syndrome is the most common inherited form of mental retardation. It was so named because one part of the X chromosome has a defective piece that appears pinched and fragile when under a microscope. Fragile X syndrome affects about two to five percent of people with ASD. It is important to have an autistic checked for Fragile X, especially if the parents are considering having another child. If one child has Fragile X, there is a one-in-two chance that boys born to the same parents will have Fragile X (see Mendelian genetics). Other members of the family who may be contemplating having a child may also wish to be checked for the syndrome. Jump to: navigation, search Fragile X Syndrome is the most common inherited cause of mental retardation, and the most common known cause of autism. ... Mendelian inheritance (or Mendelian genetics or Mendelism) is a set of primary tenets that underlie much of genetics developed by Gregor Mendel in the latter part of the 19th century. ...

Tuberous sclerosis

Tuberous sclerosis is a rare genetic disorder that causes benign tumors to grow in the brain as well as in other vital organs. It has a consistently strong association with the autistic spectrum. One to four percent of autistic people also have tuberous sclerosis. Tuberous sclerosis, (meaning hard potatoes), also known as Bourneville disease, is a rare genetic disorder primarily characterized by a triad of seizures, mental retardation, and skin lesions (called adenoma sebaceum). ... See the article about cancer for the main article about malignant tumors. ...

Treatment concerns

If a comorbid disorder is present in an autistic, it often cannot be treated in the same manner as when it is present in a neurotypical. For many types of mood, movement and sensory problems, it is generally agreed that smaller amounts of medications work for persons with autism. Larger amounts just cause additional problems. The reason probably has to do with the structural neurology of autism — if the difficulties are caused by structure and genetics, not by the typical "chemical imbalance," then chemicals won't affect them in the usual, accepted ways. A neurotypical (or NT) person is one whose neurological development and state are typical, conforming to what most people would perceive as normal. ...

Some sources indicate autistics have a greater sensitivity to neuroleptics compared to neurotypicals, and that tricyclics should be used with great care, if at all. Many autistics are hyperserotonemic, and the use of the most common type of antidepressant (SSRIs) can cause serotonin syndrome. In this case, tianeptine may be a better alternative, or medication which does not affect serotonin at all (e.g. NARI, MAOI). Jump to: navigation, search The term antipsychotic is applied to a group of drugs used to treat psychosis. ... Chemical structure of the tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline Tricyclic antidepressants are a class of antidepressant drugs first used in the 1950s. ... Jump to: navigation, search Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a class of antidepressants. ... Serotonin syndrome is a condition caused by an excess of serotonin in the brain. ... Jump to: navigation, search Tianeptine (INN) (Stablon®, Coaxil®), is structurally similar to the tricyclic antidepressants. ... A selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor or SNRI is a drug that inhibits the reuptake of norepinephrine by neurons, so that more of this neurotransmitter remains in the synapse. ... Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) are a class of antidepressant drugs prescribed for the treatment of depression. ...