3-103 - Psychiatric Comorbidity in Autism Spectrum Disorders from Childhood to Early Adulthood: Predictors and Consequences

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Recent research suggests that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) evince a very high rate of comorbid psychiatric conditions across development (Kaat et al., 2013). However, given that these comorbidities are often diagnosed later in childhood, little work has yet clarified how they may impact manifestations of ASD itself throughout the lifespan. Making sense of these comorbidities is key to understanding atypical development in ASD beyond its core symptoms. This symposium presents among the most comprehensive and integrative findings to date on common comorbidities in ASD -- ADHD, depression, and anxiety -- and the ways in which they relate to multiple outcomes across development.

The first paper explores patterns of atypical behaviors in ASD and how these patterns predict comorbidity severity, suggesting that atypicality may present unique links to primary ASD comorbidities such as ADHD and anxiety. The second paper uses a longitudinal, nationally representative sample of teens and young adults with ASD to reveal how childhood profiles and adult outcomes may differ depending on ADHD comorbidity status. The third and fourth papers consider the phenomenology of two of the most common comorbidities in this population, Social Anxiety Disorder and depression, respectively, in adolescents and adults with ASD. Their findings highlight the importance of self-perception and rumination on functional impairment as these features emerge during the transition to young adulthood. These four papers together elucidate the contours of how comorbidities manifest, interact with, and emerge beyond core symptoms of ASD, highlighting their profound impact on developmental outcomes in this population.

Sub Unit

• Developmental Disabilities

Chairs

• Juhi Kaboski, Univ of Notre Dame

• Matthew D Lerner, Stony Brook University

Individual Presentations

• Atypicality in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Factor Structure and Associations with Psychiatric Comorbidity - Presenting Author: Matthew D Lerner, Stony Brook University; Connor Kerns, Drexel University; Kenneth D Gadow, Stony Brook University

• Childhood Profiles and Adult Outcomes in Comorbid ASD and ADHD - Presenting Author: Juhi Kaboski, Univ of Notre Dame; Brandon Greenawalt, University of Notre Dame; Michael Clark, University of Notre Dame; Natalie Hartman, Saint Mary's College; Andrew Flatley, University of Notre Dame; Kailey Kawalec, Univ of Notre Dame; Joshua J Diehl, University of Notre Dame

• The Development and Life Course of Social Anxiety Disorder in Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder - Presenting Author: Brenna Maddox, Virginia Tech; Susan White, Virginia Tech

• Measurement and Mechanism of Depression in Autism Spectrum Disorder - Presenting Author: Katherine Gotham, Vanderbilt University; Steven Brunwasser, Vanderbilt University; Kathryn Unruh, Vanderbilt University; Somer L. Bishop, Weill Cornell Medical College; Catherine Lord, Cornell College