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Autism and Related Conditions Resources: Connections, Challenges, and Care
Autism often exists alongside other conditions, known as co-occurring conditions, which can affect physical health, mental well-being, and daily functioning. Understanding the relationship between autism and these conditions is essential for providing comprehensive care and support. This resource page delves into the most common co-occurring conditions, such as social anxiety, ADHD, OCD, and more. Here, you’ll find insights into how these conditions interact with autism, strategies for management, and resources to help individuals and families navigate these complex challenges with confidence and compassion.
Recent Articles
Autism and Psychosis: Overlap, Differences and Co-occurrence
When most people think of psychosis, they think of schizophrenia—not autism. However, psychosis can be associated with several different diagnoses. Although psychosis is not a symptom of autism, it’s more common for autistic individuals to experience psychosis at some point during their lives than it is for neurotypicals.
Psychosis often involves hallucinations and delusions, where an individual perceives things that are not there or believes things that are untrue, respectively. These experiences can feel very real and quite frightening. However, many forms of support can help people thrive while reducing, managing or eliminating symptoms of psychosis.
Understanding Autism and Sleep: Navigating Sleep Patterns in Autistic Adults
Restorative sleep is essential for maintaining overall good health, influencing both mental and physical well-being. However, for many autistic adults, quality sleep feels out of reach.
Sleep challenges, such as trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, are some of the most common complaints among adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Some autistic people may sleep too much or too little, have irregular sleep patterns or struggle with other diagnosable sleep disorders.
Read on to learn about sleep challenges associated with autism spectrum disorder, factors contributing to sleep struggles and how to get better sleep.
Social Anxiety vs Autism: Understanding the Differences and Overlaps
The major difference between social anxiety and autism is how they are classified; autism is considered a neurodevelopmental condition, while social anxiety is a mental health condition. Despite this, the two diagnoses share a number of similarities. Autistic individuals and people with social anxiety communicate and experience social situations differently than others. While they have many overlapping traits, social anxiety and autism are ultimately very different. Individuals with either diagnosis can benefit greatly from supports like psychotherapy and, for some, medication. A mental health professional must determine whether an individual is autistic, has social anxiety or both to provide truly tailored and holistic support.
