Co-Existing Conditions
Autism may also be present along with other conditions. Just like the rest of us, people with autism may exhibit other medical issues or mental health concerns. Autism may exacerbate some of these or may make it more difficult to isolate and diagnose these other conditions.
There may be medical issues such as epilepsy, food allergies, or gastro intestinal issues. People with autism often have late developing nervous systems and may exhibit sensory processing disorders, lack of muscle tone, apraxia or hyper or hypo awareness of sensory input (hearing, touch, taste, sight). Anxiety or depression may exist. Many people with autism exhibit sleep disorders. Epilepsy or other seizure activity is possible. It is important to check out any physical symptoms understanding that a child with autism may not always be able to pinpoint where something hurts (or that something hurts at all!) which can make diagnosis a challenge. Issues such as anxiety, depression or sleep disorders can often be helped with appropriate medication and/or therapeutic interventions. Sometimes people with autism also have intellectual disabilities and/or other learning disabilities as well. AD/HD, OCD and other mental health issues can also be present.
