Autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children with cerebral palsy: high prevalence rates in a population-based study.
Magnus Påhlman, Christopher Gillberg, Kate Himmelmann
PMID 33206380WHAT IT FOUND
In a population of children with cerebral palsy, 30% had autism and 30% had ADHD, rates higher than previously reported.
Intellectual disability, not motor severity, was the strongest predictor. Screening for these conditions is warranted regardless of physical function.
Key findings
01Autism and ADHD were each diagnosed in 30% of the study population, with 45% having one or both conditions.
02Intellectual disability was a significant predictor for both autism and ADHD, whereas gross motor function level did not predict autism.
03Autism and ADHD frequently co-occurred, with half of the children diagnosed with one condition also meeting criteria for the other.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Not all children were personally examined in this specific study; some data were retrospective from previous assessments by different multidisciplinary teams. The diagnostic methods and instruments could not be applied without adaptations for the most severely disabled children, potentially leading to underdiagnosis in this group. There was a higher proportion of the most severely disabled children among the non-participants, which may limit generalizability to the most complex cases. The study was conducted in a high-income country with a specific healthcare system, which may affect the applicability of findings to other settings.
Declared interests
The study was supported by non-U.S. government funds. No specific commercial conflicts of interest were declared in the text provided.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the high prevalence rates as evidence that autism and ADHD are caused by cerebral palsy. This is an observational study of co-occurrence in a population with CP, not a study of etiology. Additionally, do not assume that children with severe motor impairments are more likely to have autism; the study found that intellectual disability, not motor severity, was the primary predictor.