Comorbid psychopathology in adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders and intellectual disabilities

Abstract

There is an abundance of research investigating Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in children; however, little emphasis has been placed on ASD in adults, especially in regards to comorbid psychopathology. Although scales are available that measure comorbidity in adults with ID, what is needed are scales that measure comorbidity in adults with ID and ASD. One such scale is the newly developed Autism Spectrum Disorders-Comorbidity for Adults (ASD-CA). There are two purposes of this study. The first is to further develop the ASD-CA by calculating cutoff scores for its subscales. The second is to compare the frequency of symptom endorsements on the ASD-CA among three groups: individuals with ID; individuals with ID and ASD; and individuals with ID, ASD, and additional psychopathology.