Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Comparative Study of Autism and ADHD

This essay provides a comprehensive comparison between Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in young children. It begins with background information on both disorders, highlighting their impact on the nervous system and brain function. The essay then delves into a detailed comparison of the signs and symptoms of autism, such as communication difficulties, repetitive behaviors, and social challenges, with those of ADHD, including inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Furthermore, it explores the various treatment options available for both conditions, including therapies, medications, and the importance of a supportive environment, emphasizing the need for family engagement in the treatment process. The essay concludes by underscoring the distinct nature of the two disorders while acknowledging the similarities in their treatment approaches and the importance of understanding their individual characteristics for effective management.

Running head: NEURODEVELOPMENTAL
NEURODEVELOPMENTAL
Name of Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1NEURODEVELOPMENTAL
Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
Discussion............................................................................................................................2
Comparison and contrast between Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder in young children (background information)................................................................2
Comparison and contrast between Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder in young children in terms of signs and symptoms of the disorders............................3
Comparison and contrast between Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder in young children in terms of treatment options available in the two cases.................4
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................5
References............................................................................................................................6

2NEURODEVELOPMENTAL
Introduction
Neurodevelopmental disorders refers to and includes all those disorders that has an
impact over thenervous system of an individual and therefore leads to abnormal functioning of
the brain that further affects an individual’s learning ability emotions, memory and self-control.
The impact of the neurodevelopmental disorders may last for an entire lifetime (Fayyad et al.,
2017, 47-65). ADHD or the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a medical condition in
which there occurs differences between the brain activity and brain development that has an
impact over the individual’s ability to pay attention (Thapar, Cooper & Rutter, 2017, 339-346).
Autism includes a developmental disorder which affects the ability to interact and communicate.
The main aim of the paper is to understand the concepts of Autism and ADHD and carry out a
comparison between the two. The paper will therefore discuss about the Comparison and contrast
between Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in young children in terms of
examples and background information for the disorder, signs and symptoms and also treatment
of the same.
Discussion
Comparison and contrast between Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder in young children (background information)
A child with autism usually faces problem while communicating with others because of
lack of eye contact, gestures, sometimes even with their language, voice tone. They make
different types of facial expressions while interacting with others and may show repetitive
behaviors. For instance, they may make body movements that are repetitive such as running back
and forth, flapping, rocking and others (Castelnau et al., 2017, 143). They may keep staring at an

3NEURODEVELOPMENTAL
object for long and they hate change may it be in their daily routines or food or clothes and other
activities. On the other hand, A child with ADHD may have his parents wondering about his
strange behavior at school and home. Some of these behaviors includes- boredom, tendency of
taking up fights, disruptive in nature, and also rude sometimes. The child may also be facing
problems related to sitting still at one place, and therefore having a difficulty at the time of taking
meals. Such children may sometimes become too difficult to deal with if not taken to health care
practitioners at the right time (Bora & Pantelis, 2016, 699-716).
Comparison and contrast between Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder in young children in terms of signs and symptoms of the disorders
In case of children who are suffering from Autism spectrum disorder may have
communication disturbances and social functioning that is impaired (Foss-Feig et al., 2019, 582-
588). Some of the major symptoms may include- unresponsiveness, repetitive movements, lack
of ability to understand the social cues and intense focus on a particular items. Some other signs
and symptoms may include lack of eye contact, lack of back and forth play, social withdrawal,
lac of language skills, crying or screaming. Other signs can also include- abnormal facial
expressions, abnormal voice tone, behavioural disturbances, disability in learning, repeating
phrases or even words and also self-abusive behaviour. There can also be sleep disturbances, use
of odd phrases or words, unusual reactions and various other signs and symptoms (Matthews &
Goldberg, 2018, 311-321). However it should be remembered that the signs and symptoms may
vary depending upon the severity of the disorder. Some of the common signs and symptoms of
ADHD includes- a behaviour that is more self-focused such as difficulty in waiting, interrupting
behaviour because the patients may not be able to understand others desires and needs. A child
with ADHD suffers from extreme outburst of emotions at different times especially anger. They

4NEURODEVELOPMENTAL
have a habit of fidgeting because such children find it difficult to sit at one place. They have a
habit of day dreaming, they tend to avoid those tasks which require mental efforts, and such
children can often carry out careless mistakes as they may find it difficult to follow instructions.
Comparison and contrast between Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder in young children in terms of treatment options available in the two cases
For treating both the disorders both medications and a supportive environment at home is
required (Grassmann et al., 2017, 367-371). In case of treating children with autism, some of the
most common therapies available include- play based therapy, speech language therapy,
occupational therapy, physical therapy and also nutritional therapy. However these therapies
need to be taken on a routine basis for best results. In addition to these, parents can help in the
treatment of autism by learning more about the disorder and getting involved in the process of
treatment. Parents can prepare a schedule for their child and stick to the same, they can reward
good behavior on part of their children, they can help in creating a more safe environment for
children for their better treatment. Parents can find different non-verbal ways of connecting with
their children. On the other hand, for treatment of ADHD, the stimulants that are prescribed
includes- Adderall and Ritalin (Abikoff, 1991, 205-209). These medication can help in
improving the concentration power of children and help them in sitting at one place quietly.
However it may not help the child in improving his relationships with others, or dealing with
behavioral issue for the long period of time. Hence a combination of medication and home
treatment is required for curing the patients completely. Parents must motivate their children to
engage in any exercise on daily basis, parents can help them in improving their sleep quality by
preparing a schedule for their children and always following the same, a healthy diet can also

5NEURODEVELOPMENTAL
help in reducing ADHD symptoms. Further parents can also take the help of psychiatrist,
psychologists, therapists and other specialist.
Conclusion
Therefore from the above discussion, it is understood that, the two disorders that is
autism spectrum disorder and Attention deficit hyperactivity deficit disorder are completely
different from each other with the only similarly in the treatment process. This is so because the
treatment process of both the disorders requires not just medications but also family engagement
in the treatment process for their better recovery. Moreover from the paper, the different signs
and symptoms of the two disorders have been understood and also examples of patients suffering
from these disorders have been understood.

6NEURODEVELOPMENTAL
References
Abikoff, H. (1991). Cognitive training in ADHD children: Less to it than meets the eye. Journal
of learning Disabilities, 24(4), 205-209.
Bora, E., & Pantelis, C. (2016). Meta-analysis of social cognition in
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): comparison with healthy controls and
autistic spectrum disorder. Psychological medicine, 46(4), 699-716.
Castelnau, P., Albert, G., Chabbi, C., Gilles, C., Deseille-Turlotte, G., Schweitzer, E., &
Thibault, L. (2017). Self-esteem reinforcement strategies in ADHD: Comparison between
hypnosis and art-therapy. European Journal of Paediatric Neurology, 21, e143.
Fayyad, J., Sampson, N. A., Hwang, I., Adamowski, T., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Al-Hamzawi, A., ...
& Gureje, O. (2017). The descriptive epidemiology of DSM-IV Adult ADHD in the
world health organization world mental health surveys. ADHD Attention Deficit and
Hyperactivity Disorders, 9(1), 47-65.
Foss-Feig, J. H., Velthorst, E., Smith, L., Reichenberg, A., Addington, J., Cadenhead, K. S., ...
& Seidman, L. J. (2019). Clinical Profiles and Conversion Rates Among Young
Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder Who Present to Clinical High Risk for
Psychosis Services. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent
Psychiatry, 58(6), 582-588.
Grassmann, V., Alves, M. V., Santos-Galduróz, R. F., & Galduróz, J. C. F. (2017). Possible
cognitive benefits of acute physical exercise in children with ADHD: a systematic
review. Journal of attention disorders, 21(5), 367-371.

7NEURODEVELOPMENTAL
Matthews, N. L., & Goldberg, W. A. (2018). Theory of mind in children with and without autism
spectrum disorder: Associations with the sibling constellation. Autism, 22(3), 311-321.
Thapar, A., Cooper, M., & Rutter, M. (2017). Neurodevelopmental disorders. The Lancet
Psychiatry, 4(4), 339-346.