Psychopathology in children and adolescents with ASD without mental retardation.

Badia et al. (2013) compared kids with autism who have average or higher IQs to typically developing kids. They looked for low-level signs of depression, anxiety, ADHD, and OCD.

The team used rating scales and interviews to count subclinical symptoms. These are problems that do not meet full disorder rules but still cause stress.

Autistic youth without intellectual disability showed more subclinical symptoms in every area tested. The elevations were small but consistent across depression, anxiety, ADHD, and OCD domains.

Even though no child had a full extra diagnosis, the autism group carried a heavier symptom load. The pattern points to broad, low-grade psychiatric risk.

Norris et al. (2010) saw the same thing three years earlier. Parents, teachers, and the kids themselves all reported higher depression and anxiety in autistic students with IQ ≥ 70. The 2013 study adds OCD and ADHD to the list, showing the risk is wider than mood alone.

Koegel et al. (2014) reviewed the field and noted most papers skip autistic kids who also have intellectual disability. Badia et al. (2013) is one of those papers, focusing only on the higher-IQ slice. The review and the target study agree: we know little about comorbidity in autistic youth with ID.

Orinstein et al. (2015) extends the story. They followed youth who lost their autism diagnosis. These optimal-outcome teens still carried extra ADHD and specific phobia symptoms. Together the papers paint a picture: autism symptoms can fade, but psychiatric vulnerability often remains.

Screen every autistic client, even the bright, verbal ones who seem fine. Use brief rating scales for depression, anxiety, ADHD, and OCD at intake and yearly. Catch subclinical signs early and you can add coping skills before problems bloom into full disorders.