Subclinical ADHD combined with ASD increases risk of poor adaptive behavior

Abstract

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and symptoms of attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have poor adaptive behavior compared to children with ASD and without comorbid ADHD, even when the ADHD symptoms are subclinical, a recent study has found. This is even true for children whose ADHD symptoms are subclinical. The findings support a framework embodied in the Research Domain Criteria (RDC) of the National Institutes of Health that there is a continuum of behavioral impairments and functional outcome measures, with no bright‐line separation.