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Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Its Comorbidities as a Co-Occurring Health Issue in Autistic People
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) occurs in as many as 8% of autistic individuals with even a higher percentage that may have hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD) (Cederlof et al., 2016, Kindgren et al., 2021). This estimate is low since EDS is more commonly diagnosed in females (Castori, 2012), who...
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The Prevalence of Comorbidities in Autism: Consideration of Comorbidity in Intervention and Treatment Response
“If you have met one person with autism, you have met one person with autism.” In this quotation, Dr. Stephen Shore, an autistic professor of special education, refers to the unique and varied experience the autism spectrum can be for those individuals who experience it. Autism is an...
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Providing Primary Behavior Health Care Services to Autistic Clients: Is This an Exception or the New Rule for ABA Organizations?
It is well known, but not fully appreciated, that an ASD diagnosis triggers a tsunami of emotions within the family of the autistic individual. Many established ABA provider groups have realized that the needs of parents and siblings of ASD individuals should be tended to via an interdisciplinary...
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Diagnosing Depression in Autistic Individuals
This is the first of two articles about depression in people with autism. Part 2 is The Art and Science of Treating Depression in Autism. This article discusses topics that may be upsetting to some people. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides free, confidential support 24/7 at 1...
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The Art and Science of Treating Depression in Autism
This is the second of two articles about depression in people with autism. Part 1 is Diagnosing Depression in People with Autism. Thanks to research, we know more about depression in children and adults with autism than we used to know. Scientists have studied the rates of depression, risk...
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Autism and Its Many Comorbidities: Conditions, Deficits, and Challenges
There is a popular and common saying within the autism community that “when you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” It becomes clear that this is true when one considers the variety of conditions which occur comorbidly with ASD. Being on the autism spectrum is...
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A Beautiful Mind – See It Through My Eyes
Liz, as she is affectionately called, has spent her 29 years living a life of resiliency - a life which given inherent challenges makes her journey that much more remarkable. During her childhood, Liz received early intervention services beginning at nine months when it was suspected that she might...
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Why So Many Autistic Individuals Have Eating Disorders
Eating disorders have a devastating effect on the lives of those affected and are associated with the highest mortality rates of all mental illnesses. While they can affect anyone, there is a higher incidence of people with autism who have eating disorders compared to the general population....
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Autism Spectrum Disorder and Comorbidity: A Systematic Approach to Treatment
Comorbidity refers to the presence of one or more mental or physical conditions that coincide with a primary mental or physical condition (Al-Beltagi, 2021). Research has shown that 70% of autistic children meet the criteria for one comorbid disorder and 40% meet the criteria for two or more...
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An Autistic’s Vision for Lasting and Successful Workplace Neurodiversity
Consider Dan Burger, a gifted and autistic computer science student at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. In spite of the challenges he faced along his journey through school and into the workforce, Burger's exceptional abilities at visual problem-solving and dealing with large amounts of data...
