Differential Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Two Clinical Cases

Katherine Kuhl-Meltzoff Stavropoulos; Yasamine Bolourian; Jan Blacher

doi:10.3390/jcm7040071

Differential Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Two Clinical Cases

J Clin Med. 2018 Apr 8;7(4):71. doi: 10.3390/jcm7040071.

Authors

Katherine Kuhl-Meltzoff Stavropoulos¹, Yasamine Bolourian², Jan Blacher³

Affiliations

¹ University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA. katherine.stavropoulos@ucr.edu.
² University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA. ybolourian@gmail.com.
³ University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA. jan.blacher@ucr.edu.

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is estimated to affect one in 68 children. Given the increase in both prevalence and awareness of ASD, it is critical to provide accurate and timely diagnosis. However, ASD often co-occurs with other disorders, making diagnosis difficult. The objective of the current case study was to provide two examples of differential diagnosis in ASD and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) observed in an autism clinic. In both cases, the goal was to decide whether each child should be given a diagnosis of ASD, PTSD, or both.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder; differential diagnosis; post-traumatic stress disorder.

Publication types

Case Reports