COMORBID FEATURES

Perhaps what will turn out to be one of the most revealing aspects of autism is the diseases alongside which it appears.

Depending on the strictness of one's definition of autism, up to 2 of 3 children with autism also have mental retardation.

1 in 5 have epilepsy, more common in cases with mental retardation, and much less common in Asperger syndrome.

There's also significant comorbidity with affective disorders, attention deficit disorder, and diseases with widespread CNS effects such as Fragile X, Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome, and various neurocutaneous disorders.