Comorbidity in autism spectrum disorder: A literature review

Abstract

Comorbidity is defined as the co-occurrence of two or more disorders in the same person (Matson & Nebel-Schwalm, 2007). The current study provides a review of the literature on comorbidity, in relation to comorbid psychiatric and medical disorders in babies and infants, children, adults and across the lifespan. We also examine comorbid conditions such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), epilepsy, gastrointestinal symptoms, sleep problems, feeding problems and toileting problems in individuals with autism spectrum disorder.