When should a child with autism see a neurologist? Pediatric neurologist Deepa U. Menon answers that and other common questions about seizures, sleep, and tests.
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Seizures and autism
You weren't imagining it: sleep and gastrointestinal troubles really do occur together in many children with autism. So says a new study that found that kids with autism who have sleep problems are twice as likely to have GI problems, and vice versa.
Doctors have known about a link between autism and epilepsy since a psychiatrist published the first case study about children with "autistic disturbance" some 70 years ago. Still, many questions remain unanswered or controversial, including how often epilepsy occurs in people with autism. Find out who is more likely to be at risk of having both conditions, and what new research tells us about the autism-epilepsy connection.
Individuals with autism often experience significant challenges in areas other than social and communication skills, and repetitive behaviors and obsessions. These issues include: