PREVALENCE OF ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER, OPPOSITIONAL DEFIANT DISORDER AND CONDUCT DISORDER IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Aim: To estimate the prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) in children and adolescents previously diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods:  A cross-sectional study involving 71 children and adolescents previously diagnosed by a psychiatrist as having ASD.  All were enrolled at a school that accompanies only individuals with ASD.  The evaluation instruments consisted of a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Brazilian version of the semi-structured interview Kiddie-SADS-PL for the investigation of psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents.  Results:  Overall, 62% of the children in the sample had some psychiatric comorbidity: 49.3% had some form of ADHD, 11.3% ODD and 1.4% CD.   In relation to the children with ADHD, 11.3% fulfilled the criteria for the inattentive subtype, 12.7% for the hyperactive/impulsive subtype, 7.1% for the combined subtype and 18.3% for ADHD not otherwise specified.  Conclusion:  These results ratify the clinical heterogeneity of ASD and highlight the importance of diagnosing comorbidities that could affect the clinical status and functioning level of children and adolescents with ASD.