This study examined change prospectively in autism symptoms and maladaptive behaviors during a 4.5 year period in 241 adolescents and adults with an autism spectrum disorder who were 10-52 years old (mean = 22.0) when the study began. Although many individuals' symptoms remained stable, a greater proportion of the sample experienced declines than increases in their level of autism symptoms and maladaptive behaviors, and there were significant improvements in mean levels of symptoms. Individuals with mental retardation had more autism symptoms and maladaptive behaviors than those without mental retardation, and they improved less over time. Compared to adolescents, older sample members (31 and older) had fewer maladaptive behaviors and experienced more improvement in these behaviors over time.

This study investigated the associations between the characteristics of adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and maternal well-being. Two groups were compared: mothers of adolescents and adults with ASD and co-morbid psychiatric disorders (n = 142) and mothers whose sons or daughters had a single diagnosis of ASD (n = 130). Individuals with co-morbid psychiatric disorders had higher levels of repetitive behaviors, asocial behavior, and unpredictability of behavior than their counterparts with ASD only. They also had poorer rated health as well as more frequent gastrointestinal problems and sleep problems. Mothers of sons and daughters with ASD and comorbid psychiatric disorders reported higher levels of burden and a poorer quality parent-child relationship than mothers of sons and daughters with ASD only. Higher levels of asocial behavior, unpredictability of behavior, and poorer health in sons and daughters with ASD were predictive of greater burden in mothers and a poorer quality parent-child relationship. Keywordsautism; co-morbidity; psychiatric disorders; adolescents and adults; burden There is accumulating evidence that mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience higher levels of stress and mental health symptoms than mothers of typically developing children and children with other types of disabilities (Abbeduto et al., 2004;Blacher & McIntyre, 2006;Eisenhower, Baker, & Blacher, 2005;Greenberg, Seltzer, Krauss, Chou, & Hong, 2004;Weiss, 2002). Mothers of adults with mental illness experience a similar pattern of compromised well-being (Greenberg, Seltzer, & Greenley, 1993;Greenberg, Seltzer, Krauss, & Kim, 1997;Pruchno, Patrick, & Burant, 1996;Seltzer, Greenberg, Floyd, Pettee, & Hong, 2001). Although a number of studies report high rates of co-morbid psychiatric disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, etc.) in individuals with ASD (Bradley, Summers, Wood, & Bryson, 2004;de Bruin, Ferdinand, Meester, de Nijs, & Verheij, 2007;Ghaziuddin, Weidmer-Mikhail, & Ghaziuddin, 1998;Leyfer et al., 2006;Tsakanikos et al., 2006), little is known about the effects of such co-morbidity on maternal well-being. Kim, Szatmari, Bryson, Streiner, and Wilson (2000) found that mothers who had children with ASD and anxiety or depression reported greater isolation and worried more about their child's future compared to mothers who had children with ASD only. Apart from the Kim et al. report, no other study has examined the well-being of mothers whose sons or daughters had both ASD and co-morbid psychiatric disorders. Therefore, this study compared mothers of adolescents and adults who have ASD and co-morbid psychiatric disorders with mothers of individuals who have ASD without other psychiatric disorders. We examined differences in the characteristics of the adolescents and adults with respect to autism symptoms, behavior problems, and physical health and evaluated the relative impact of these differences on maternal well-being. PREVALENCE OF PSYCHIATRIC CO-MORBIDITY IN ASDStu...

Recent research on individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) highlights that they may be at increased risk for health problems when compared to the general population, and that these differences appear to increase with age. Relatively little research has examined the psychosocial impact of poorer health in this population, even though the clinical literature suggests that health problems put individuals with ASD at risk for elevated behavioral problems and their mothers at risk for elevated caregiving burden. This study examined the associations of physical health and behavior problems, as well as the associations of these factors with maternal burden, using longitudinal data. Results indicated that prior ratings of physical health problems predicted subsequent levels of behavior problems. Further, behavior problems partially mediated the effect of health problems on maternal burden. Implications for policies and interventions that focus on health promotion in conjunction with treatment of behavior problems are discussed, along with directions for future research.

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