Objective: To examine self-reported autistic traits in people with functional neurological disorders (FND) and the prevalence of diagnosed autism spectrum disorders (ASD) among people with FND and their close relatives.
Background: Recent observations suggest that autistic traits may be a risk factor for developing FND1 2, but there is very little published data on the relationship between FND and autism.
Method: The design was a cross-sectional observational international survey of members of the patient organisation FNDHope, using a self-completed questionnaire: The Adult Autism Subthreshold Spectrum (AdAS Spectrum). The AdAS Spectrum assess a broad range of threshold and sub-threshold manifestations of the autism spectrum. It encompasses seven domains, with 160 dichotomous items (yes/no). Over six weeks, respondents were recruited internationally through an open-access online questionnaire. Cases with high levels of missing data (> 10% in the same domain or the whole questionnaire) were removed from the analysis.
Results: We had 354 respondents with a mean age of 37.8 ± SD 15.4 years (female sex 90%, female gender identity 87%). Previous diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorder, NDDs (ASD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities or intellectual disabilities) was present in 75 (21.2%), and 190 (53.7%) had a relative with NDDs (for 49,5%, this was their children). We had sufficient data to analyse the AdAS score in 344 participants. This analysis found three groups: group A (9.6%) with respondents below the cut-off for subthreshold autistic traits; group B (21.2%) self-reporting significant subthreshold autistic traits; and group C (69.2%) scoring in the range suggesting a clinically significant ASD. Group C had a significantly lower mean age compared to group B (p= .004) and group A (p <.02). Respondents previously diagnosed with NDDs had significantly higher scores in the AdAS questionnaire (p<.001). Positive family history of a NDDs was significantly related to higher scores (p=.01).
Conclusion: In this group of people with FND, diagnosed ASD, self-reported autistic traits, and having children diagnosed with ASD were all very common. Our sample was self-selected, and the AdAS spectrum is not a diagnostic instrument. Further studies are needed to provide more evidence regarding the prevalence of ASD and autistic traits in people with FND and the experience of care and treatment in autistic people with FND.
References: 1. Ekanayake V, Kranick S, LaFaver K, et al. Personality traits in psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) and psychogenic movement disorder (PMD): Neuroticism and perfectionism. J Psychosom Res 2017;97:23-29. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2017.03.018 [published Online First: 2017/06/14]
2. McWilliams A, Reilly C, Gupta J, et al. Autism spectrum disorder in children and young people with non-epileptic seizures. Seizure 2019;73:51-55. doi: 10.1016/j.seizure.2019.10.022 [published Online First: 2019/11/20]
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
B. Gonzalez-Herrero, F. Morgante, J. Pagonabarraga, B. Stanton, M. Edwards. Screening of autistic traits in people with functional neurological disorders [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2022; 37 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/screening-of-autistic-traits-in-people-with-functional-neurological-disorders/. Accessed June 14, 2025.« Back to 2022 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/screening-of-autistic-traits-in-people-with-functional-neurological-disorders/