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Parent and Teacher Reports of Comorbid Anxiety and ADHD Symptoms in Children with ASD

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Abstract

This study examined the prevalence of ADHD symptoms and anxiety as reported by parents and teachers for 180 preschool children (ages 4–5) and school-aged children (ages 6–7) with ASD using the Child Behavior Checklist—Parent and Teacher Report Forms (Achenbach and Rescorla, Manual for ASEBA school-age forms & profiles, Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 2001). Parents reported elevated anxiety symptoms in 31% of preschool children and 50% of school-aged children, while teachers reported lower rates of 5 and 30%, respectively. Parents reported elevated ADHD symptoms in 22% of preschool children and 45% of school-aged children, while teachers reported elevations in 20 and 24%, respectively. There was low concordance between parents and teachers, with teachers reporting fewer problems overall. Specific behaviors endorsed by parents and teachers are also discussed.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (R324A110086; J. Blacher, P.I.). Support was also provided by the SEARCH Family Autism Resource Center in the Graduate School of Education, UC Riverside. We are indebted to the participating families and teachers and to our staff and students.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. SEARCH Family Autism Resource Center, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Riverside, 900 University Ave., Riverside, CA, 92521, USA

    Elizabeth Llanes, Jan Blacher & Katherine Stavropoulos

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 William T. Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA, 02125, USA

    Abbey Eisenhower

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  1. Elizabeth Llanes
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  2. Jan Blacher
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  3. Katherine Stavropoulos
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  4. Abbey Eisenhower
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Contributions

EL conceived of the current study, performed the statistical analyses, and drafted the manuscript; The current study utilized data collected as part of a larger study conceived by JB and AE; JB participated in the design of the current study, and assisted in the interpretation of the data; AE participated in the design of the current study; KS participated in the design of the current study and interpretation of the data; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Elizabeth Llanes.

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Llanes, E., Blacher, J., Stavropoulos, K. et al. Parent and Teacher Reports of Comorbid Anxiety and ADHD Symptoms in Children with ASD. J Autism Dev Disord 50, 1520–1531 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3701-z

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