Consequently, suitable approaches to understanding the complex needs of these adult patient groups are warranted.Diagnosis of ASD is based on a qualitative impairment of social interaction and communication as well as restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interest, selleck bio and activities [3]. ADHD diagnosis is characterised by attention deficits and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity. Importantly, diagnosis of each of these syndromes requires that the symptoms begin in childhood [3]. Although ADHD and ASD present distinct problems, these two conditions can also appear to share characteristics [4�C6], making them sometimes problematic to distinguish. For example, inattention and poor social skills are common to both disorders.

However, ADHD and ASD may also share a high rate of comorbidity, with epidemiological studies, for example, estimating 30% prevalence of ADHD amongst ASD patients [7]. In addition to symptoms described in the diagnostic criteria, patients with ASD and/or ADHD tend to also experience a range of other behavioral and developmental problems. Both syndromes are associated with language [8, 9] and motor skill deficits [10, 11] as well as mood disorders [12, 13] and sleep problems [14, 15]. They also tend to involve cognitive deficits including executive functions, time perception, and memory functions [16]. Furthermore, ASD and ADHD are thought to have more extensive developmental problems than other psychiatric conditions with typically later onset (such as mood disorders or anxiety disorders) [17, 18].

Both ASD and ADHD are associated with a range of difficulties, of which only some are located within the diagnostic criteria [19, 20]. However, clinical assessments often focus heavily on the core features of a suspected diagnosis and, as a result, can fail to examine the assortment of problems that an individual presents with. Gillberg has conceptualized the variety of problems characterising some young children in clinical settings as ESSENCE (early symptomatic syndromes eliciting neurodevelopmental clinical examinations) [21]. This approach describes the multifaceted developmental and behavioral symptoms often observed in children with neurodevelopmental syndromes, including ASD and ADHD. ESSENCE presents these problems as belonging to eight areas of functioning: (a) general development, (b) communication and language, (c) social interrelatedness, (d) motor skills, (e) attention, (f) activity, (g) behavior Carfilzomib (conduct), and (h) mood and/or sleep. Gillberg observes that children presenting for clinical examination with one or more of these difficulties are usually treated by only one type of specialist, although specialists from a range of fields would often be more appropriate [21].