Comorbidity between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Arabic-speaking Egyptian children

Abstract

Abstract Background The study aimed to assess comorbidity of symptoms between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and explore the overlap between both disorders in Arabic-speaking children for further improvement of the intervention methods. Methodology The study included 33 children with delayed language development associated with ASD (group I) and 33 children with delayed language development associated with ADHD (group II). The age range of the subjects was 3–8 years. All children underwent comprehensive history taking, and diagnoses of ASD and ADHD were confirmed by using the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), Conners’ test, psychometric evaluation, and language assessment. Result 81.8% of the ASD group was accompanied by ADHD and 57.6% of the ADHD group was accompanied by ASD. The mean ± SD of the CARS test in the ASD group was 33.6 ± 4.2, while in the ADHD group it was 28.9 ± 5.9. The mean ± SD of Conners’ test in the ASD group was 69.9 ± 4.9 and was 66.9 ± 4.7 in the ADHD group. Conclusion A positive correlation was recorded between ADHD and ASD as regards their comorbidities. Both CARS and Conners’ tests demonstrated significant differences between both disorders, with higher scores in the ASD group.