Donepezil May Improve Some Autism Symptoms

Children with ADHD often have social deficits, difficulties in developing peer relationships, and what Dr. Hardan described as “poor coherence between visual and verbal behaviors.” But what may resemble autism or an autistic spectrum disorder, often is not.

Children frequently referred to the clinic at Stanford who are misdiagnosed as autistic include those with severe anxiety symptoms, early onset personality disorders, and reactive attachment disorders. Children in the latter category, often adopted from overseas, have many features that could lead a clinician to mistakenly diagnose autism, including severe social deficits and stereotypical behaviors.

Methodological factors may also have contributed to apparent increases in autism prevalence, as depicted in a recent article, “The autism epidemic: fact or artifact?” (J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 2007;46:721–30).