https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1097-8366
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ABSTRACT
This study investigated the relationship between sleep, gastrointestinal symptoms, challenging behavior, adaptive behavior, and quality of life between children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) symptoms. Parents of 118 children and adolescents with ASD completed the Conners Early Childhood Rating Scale–Parent Short Form or the Conners 3–Parent Short Form, Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire, Gastrointestinal Symptom Inventory, Behavior Problems Inventory–Short Form, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition. The ASD group and the ASD with AD/HD groups differed significantly in sleep problems, gastrointestinal symptoms, and quality of life. Regressions indicated that AD/HD symptoms accounted for a small proportion of the variance for the differences in sleep problems and quality of life. AD/HD symptoms contribute to the complex needs of individuals with ASD. Research is necessary to investigate how these symptoms exacerbate comorbidities.
Disclosure statement
All the authors of this article declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of National University of Ireland Galway and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Source of funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.