Christopher Gillberg Male Autism linked to many other issues

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Among the men who have another disorder, depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in particular went unrecognized and untreated. The study was published 26 July in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders1.

“The focus on autism alone has led to undertreatment of both depression and ADHD,” says lead researcher Christopher Gillberg, professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. “Everyone who works with people with Asperger’s or autism needs to be aware that they should be looking out for these problems.”

Gillberg and his colleagues uncovered some other interesting information about their participants. For example, they noticed that as adolescents, many of the men were clumsy and uncoordinated. Of those included in the latest study, 34 had met the criteria for developmental coordination disorder — a neurological condition that affects that brain’s ability to control the body. Many of the men never learned to ride a bike, for instance. In one extreme case, a participant had difficulty avoiding obvious obstacles, such as a pole on the street.

These motor deficits might make social interactions even more challenging, Gillberg says, noting that some of the men avoided sports and other group activities as teens. “We need to be looking much more carefully in all individuals given a diagnosis of autism or Asperger’s given all these problems.”