In a new Pediatrics article, researchers at the Johns Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public Health examined the relationship
between the co-occurring conditions in children with Autism
Spectrum Disorders (ASD), and whether the children’s ASD
diagnosis remained stable or changed. The study, “Co-occurring
Conditions and Change in Diagnosis in Autism Spectrum
Disorders,” was published online January 23 and will appear in
the February edition of Pediatrics. The authors, Heather Close,
Li-Ching Lee and Christopher N. Kaufmann of Johns Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Andrew W. Zimmerman of
Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, found that the type
and number of co-occurring conditions vary by children’s age.
These conditions include anxiety, depression, developmental
delay, speech problems and seizures. “Our study found that
children with a current ASD are more likely to have co-occurring
conditions compared to children who no longer have an ASD
diagnosis,” said Close, the study’s lead author. The