Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are two of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders, with a high degree of co-occurrence.
Methods: Prospective longitudinal studies of infants who later meet criteria for ASD or ADHD offer the opportunity to determine whether the two disorders share developmental pathways.
Results: Prospective studies of younger siblings of children with autism have revealed a range of infant behavioral and neural markers associated with later diagnosis of ASD. Research on infants with later ADHD is less developed, but emerging evidence reveals a number of relations between infant measures and later symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity.
Conclusions: We review this literature, highlighting points of convergence and divergence in the early pathways to ASD and ADHD.
Keywords: ADHD; Neurodevelopmental disorder; autism spectrum disorders; developmental pathways; prediction, risk factors.
© 2014 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.