Autism spectrum disorders among adolescents and adults and comparison with schizophrenia

Abstract

Objectives: Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) may be commonly misdiagnosed as schizophrenia due to common symptoms and accompanying psychotic manifestations in both adolescence and adulthood. The purpose of this study is to examine and compare the autistic symptoms and positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia in cases diagnosed as Autism Spectrum Disorder. Methods: Twenty-one patients between ages of 16-36 who have admitted to outpatient clinic have previously been diagnosed as autism spectrum disorders (autistic disorder, Asperger Syndrome, pervasive development disorder not otherwise specified) according to DSM-IV diagnosis criteria, have an IQ of 50 or above, have been included in the study. Control group have been composed of 21 patients between ages of 21-39 who have been diagnosed as schizophrenia according to DSM-IV diagnosis criteria and have an IQ of 50 or above. Psychiatric assessment has been made with Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS), SCID-I and WAIS. Results: The negative symptoms of ASD are found to be higher than schizophrenia cases where as the positive symptoms of schizophrenia cases are found to be higher than ASD cases. Twenty percent (n = 4) of OSB cases do not meet autism symptoms while none of the schizophrenia cases meet autism symptoms. In one case of the ASD group, additional schizophrenia diagnosis was present. Conclusions: In this study, it has been found that negative symptoms of schizophrenia are widely observed in adolescent and adult patients followed with ASD diagnosis. Consequently, autism spectrum disorders are manifested common symptoms with schizophrenia in adolescence and adulthood.

Functional outcome in late adolescence/early adulthood of patients with autism spectrum disorder and its relationships with parental burnout and depression: A preliminary multi-center, cross-sectional study

“…Further studies should evaluate predictors of gainful employment among this sample. Counseling services, vocational training and support and coordination of services across schools, families, and potential employers for young adults and adults with should be established as soon as possible in developing countries, including Turkey [ 7 , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] ]. An additional indicator of successful functioning in adulthood is independent living, which includes separation from the family of origin and becoming socially active in the community.…”

“…Studies on adults with ASD from Turkey are limited, although interest in their functional outcomes, comorbidities and parenting burden is increasing [ 20 ]. Kucuk and colleagues evaluated 21 patients with ASD with an average age of 20.9 years (range = 16.0–36.0) and an IQ ≥ 50 and found that the symptoms of 20.0 % of the patients improved during puberty, with 4.8 % developing psychotic disorders [ 21 ]. Gormez evaluated parenting burden among 101 Turkish adults with intellectual disabilities (IDs), of whom 31.7 % also had ASD [ 22 ].…”

Functional Outcome in Late Adolescence/ Early Adulthood of Patients With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Its Relationships With Parental Burnout and Depression: Multi-center, Cross-sectional Study

“…Studies on adults with ASD from Turkey are limited, although interest in their functional outcomes and comorbidities are increasing 21 . In the rst study, 22,23 , 21 patients with ASDs with an average age of 20.9 years (range = 16.0-36.0) and with IQ ≥ 50 were evaluated. In this study; 20.0% of the patients were reported to have symptomatic improvement during puberty, while rate of comorbid psychotic disorders was 4.8%.…”