The prevalence of symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder.

This study aims to estimate the prevalence of symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This is a cross-sectional study conducted with the parents of 89 children previously diagnosed with ASD. The research instrument used was the 18-item Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS). Symptoms of ADHD were present in 10.4% of the mothers of children with a diagnosis of ASD and in 11.3% of the fathers. These results suggest that the prevalence of symptoms of ADHD in the parents of children with autism is higher than that found in the general adult population.