Parent-reported gastro-intestinal symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorders.
Expect GI complaints in roughly half of school-age clients with autism—screen for constipation and soiling during intake.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Chandler et al. (2013) asked parents about tummy troubles. They compared kids with autism to typically developing kids and to kids with other special needs.
The team used a survey to count how many children had ever had GI problems and how many still had them during the study.
What they found
Children with autism had more GI symptoms than both other groups. Constipation and soiling were the biggest current problems.
Roughly half of the autism group had GI complaints, far above the other kids.
How this fits with other research
Johnson et al. (2009) looked at 144 studies and saw GI rates in autism swing from 4 % to 97 %. They say the huge range comes from different ways of asking. The 2013 survey lands near the middle of that range, showing why we need one standard tool.
Slaughter et al. (2014) asked the same parent-report questions one year later. They also found more GI pain in autism and linked that pain to higher irritability and stereotypy. This backs up the 2013 result and adds a behavior angle.
Lestarevic et al. (2025) created a new GI checklist and found 54 % of kids with autism had symptoms. The number almost matches the 2013 finding, giving the older result a second vote of confidence.
Why it matters
You now have solid evidence that GI pain is common in autism. Add two quick questions to your intake: “Any constipation?” and “Any soiling?” If parents say yes, track the data and consider a medical referral. Treating the gut may calm behavior and ease your ABA sessions.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The objective of this study is to investigate whether parentally-reported gastro-intestinal (GI) symptoms are increased in a population-derived sample of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) compared to controls. Participants included 132 children with ASD and 81 with special educational needs (SEN) but no ASD, aged 10-14 years plus 82 typically developing (TD) children. Data were collected on GI symptoms, diet, cognitive abilities, and developmental histories. Nearly half (weighted rate 46.5 %) of children with ASD had at least one individual lifetime GI symptom compared with 21.8 % of TD children and 29.2 % of those with SEN. Children with ASD had more past and current GI symptoms than TD or SEN groups although fewer current symptoms were reported in all groups compared with the past. The ASD group had significantly increased past vomiting and diarrhoea compared with the TD group and more abdominal pain than the SEN group. The ASD group had more current constipation (when defined as bowel movement less than three times per week) and soiling than either the TD or SEN groups. No association was found between GI symptoms and intellectual ability, ASD severity, ASD regression or limited or faddy diet. Parents report more GI symptoms in children with ASD than children with either SEN or TD children but the frequency of reported symptoms is greater in the past than currently in all groups.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2013 · doi:10.1007/s10803-013-1768-0