Autism spectrum disorders in children with physical or mental disability or both. I: Clinical and epidemiological aspects.
The prevalence of autism spectrum disorders was studied in all children with mental retardation and/or motor disability in a defined geographical region over a two-year follow-up period. In the general population, the prevalence of autistic disorder was 0.09% at the end of the follow-up period -a minimum estimate, as children with average intelligence were not screened. Autism spectrum disorders were found in 19.8% of children with mental retardation, including strictly defined autistic disorder (DSM-III-R criteria) in 8.9%; the two-year follow-up yielded a higher prevalence of 11.7% with autistic disorder. Among children with cerebral palsy, 10.5% had an autism spectrum disorder. Clear co-variation was found between mental retardation, epilepsy and autism spectrum disorders in this population of children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
Nordin
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Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Göteborg, Sweden.
Gillberg
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C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology