Basics: Autism Comorbidities

A comorbidity is any condition that is more likely to occur in the presence of another condition than without it. A common example of a comorbidity with autism is ADHD because being neurodivergent in one way makes you more likely to be neurodivergent in multiple ways. While this is the most common, there are other pairings that autism with which has been linked. Please note that some of these are based on anecdotal evidence while others are from scientific literature. Also, this page is in no way a method of diagnosing anything, I just think it is interesting to investigate commonalities among these conditions. 

• Dys/hyperlexia (difficulty/ease with reading and writing) 

• Dys/hypercalcula (difficulty/ease with mathematics) 

• ADHD and ADD (deficits in directing attention) 

• Gastrointestinal issues/disorders 

• Connective tissue disorders like Ehlers Danlos Syndrome 

• Irregular sleeping patterns 

• Mental health problems like depression and anxiety 

• Tic disorders like Tourette’s 

• Epilepsy and seizures 

• Eating disorders like binge eating or restrictive eating 

Some of these can be explained as being connected to already acknowledged symptoms of autism, like having increased anxiety associated with living in a neurotypical environment, whereas the connections with others are more vague, like gastrointestinal issues. This brings the discussion of how symptoms are determined to be part of one condition or another. For example, one could wonder how many people with confirmed autism need to have seizure related conditions before seizures are considered a possible symptom of autism? Where is the line between autism and seizures in this scenario?

Research into comorbid questions seek to answer these questions using statistical analysis, but we still have a long way to go before we can say that the diagnostic criteria for autism is truly comprehensive.