Autism spectrum symptoms in children with neurological disorders

The aims of the present study were to assess symptoms associated with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children with neurological disorders as reported by parents and teachers on the Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ), as well as the level of agreement between informants for each child.

Ryland et al Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2012, 6:34 http://www.capmh.com/content/6/1/34 RESEARCH Open Access Autism spectrum symptoms in children with neurological disorders Hilde K Ryland1,2*, Mari Hysing1,2†, Maj-Britt Posserud2,3†, Christopher Gillberg4† and Astri J Lundervold1,2† Abstract Background: The aims of the present study were to assess symptoms associated with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children with neurological disorders as reported by parents and teachers on the Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ), as well as the level of agreement between informants for each child Methods: The ASSQ was completed by parents and teachers of the 5781 children (11–13 years) who participated in the second wave of the Bergen Child Study (BCS), an on-going longitudinal population-based study Out of these children, 496 were reported to have a chronic illness, including 99 whom had a neurological disorder The neurological disorder group included children both with and without intellectual disabilities Results: Children with neurological disorders obtained significantly higher parent and teacher reported ASSQ scores than did non-chronically ill children and those with other chronic illnesses (p