title: When Autistic Behavior Suggests a Disease Other than Classic Autism.
abstract: Most neurodevelopmental disorders are defined by their clinical symptoms and many disorders share common features. Recently there has been an increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, although concerns have been raised about the accuracy of the reported prevalence rates. This article reviews the essential features of autism spectrum disorder and describes other conditions that may include similar symptoms that may be misdiagnosed as autism spectrum disorder (primary communication disorders, anxiety disorders, attachment disorders, intellectual disability, vision and hearing impairment, and normal variations). An approach to differential diagnosis is discussed with particular attention to evaluation of young children.
authors.affiliation: Section of Developmental Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA; Child Development Center, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, PO Box 1997, Mail Station 744, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA. Electronic address: msimms@mcw.edu.
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Simms
mesh_terms: D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D057210:Delayed Diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D006801:Humans; D035583:Rare Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis
keywords: Anxiety disorder; Autism spectrum disorder; Selective mutism; Social (pragmatic) communication disorder; Specific language impairment