On the Co-Occurrence of Autism and ADHD and Joint Hypermobility, EDS and HSD
As well as MCAS which also comes into play. Last updated October 30, 2024.
No, it’s not 1:1. But, a statistically significant percentage of EDSers and folks with HSD are also autistic and or have ADHD (or “AuDHD”), and vice versa. The number keeps slowly inching up as science catches up. I’m co-authoring a book on this with about 12 other doctors and scientists due out in spring 2025 from Jessica Kingsley Publishers if all goes well. We like to say “bendy bodies come with bendy minds”, smile.
Also, our neurodivergence isn’t limited to just autism and ADHD. I’ve seen a lot of OCD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, Tourettes, and more. But autism and ADHD are just a bit better known and more prevalent, so I’m focusing on those here.
Wondering if you have a Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder, or form of EDS? See my When To Suspect and When Else to Suspect EDS pages. If you think you do, then check out my Diagnosing EDS and HSD page next.
- I’m a doctor with ADHD and this is where we’re going wrong – The Telegraph October 2024
- Bendy joints, stretchy skin, clumsiness. Why hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is often missed – and what it has to do with autism March 2023 Marie Claire Seeley via The Conversation
- People with Autism Experience Pain at a Higher Intensity – Neuroscience News, January 2023 (Me Jan – NB some with more rare EDS, like clEDS may actually experience LESS pain than they should due to insufficient enervation of the body, and end up injuring more before realizing it’s too late)
- Autism Medical Comorbidities – 2021 (only highlights some of the most common, not including hypermobility spectrum disorders and EDS surprisingly) Al-Betagi
- Joint Hypermobility Links Neurodivergence to Dysautonomia and Pain Feb 2022 Csecs, Iodice, Rae et al (includes Dr. Eccles) Frontiers in Psychology
- Mast cell-mediated neuroinflammation may have a role in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Review) 2020 Song, Lu, Huan et al
- Researchers have identified a relationship between Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Autism – Casanova, E via Autism Research Institute 2020
- Video: Hypermobility and Neurodiversity 2020 By Dr. Jessica Eccles (@BendyBrain on Twitter)
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, joint hypermobility-related disorders and pain: expanding body-mind connections to the developmental age 2018 Baeza-Velasco, Sinibaldi, Castori
- High functioning autistic disorder with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome 2011
- Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Autism Dr. Manuel Casanova 2013
- Chiari malformation I and autism spectrum disorder: an underrecognized coexistence 2015 Jayarao, Sohl, Tanaka
- MCAD linked to autism by Dr. Theoharis Theoharides 2015
- Autism in the Son of a Woman With Mitochondrial Myopathy and Dysautonomia: a Case Report 2015
- Neurological manifestations of inherited disorders of connective tissue 2014
- Nationwide population-based cohort study of psychiatric disorders in individuals with Ehlers–Danlos syndrome or hypermobility syndrome and their siblings 2016 BMC Psychiatry Martin Cederlöf, Henrik Larsson, Paul Lichtenstein, Catarina Almqvist, Eva Serlachius & Jonas F. Ludvigsson (mentions autism too)
- Joint hypermobility and autonomic hyperactivity: relevance to neurodevelopmental disorders 2014 Eccless, Iodice et al
- RCCX Hypothesis of complex polymorbidity and the stress-diatheses 2016
- ESSENCE meets connective tissue disorders? 2016 (blog) talking about how:
- A connective tissue disorder may underlie ESSENCE problems in childhood 2016 Baeza-Velasco, Grahame, Bravo
- Autism and anxiety disorder: zooming in on the details March 2017
- Autism and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) – 12 Management tips – Linda Wemyss via Spectrum Women 2017
- Learning, as an adult woman, you have autism (and EDS) – via CNN April 2017
- Groundbreaking Research Links Autism with Histamine, Inflammation and Mast Cell Activation – 2017 (based on 2013 info) via Wake Up World
- Generalized joint hypermobility and neurodevelopmental traits in a non-clinical adult population 2017 Glans, Bierot, Humble
- A Cohort Study Comparing Women with Autism Spectrum Disorder with and without Generalized Joint Hypermobility 2018 – Casanova, Sharp, Edelson et al – Behavioral Sciences
- Chronic Pain in Adolescents and Alexithymia – March 2018 May, Brandon, Clinical Pain Advisor
- Blog by another autist with EDS (Rural Tea Cake)
- A podcast (AuDHD Flourishing) by Mattia Maureé who also has hEDS
- Autism, Joint Hypermobility-Related Disorders and Pain 2018
Carolina Baeza-Velasco, David Cohen, […], and Vincent Guinchat - Autism and EDS/HSD studies collected by Nerdy Zebra January 2019
- Resources for Medical Doctors (treating autistic patients) – Marie Camin, PhD
- Can Autism Affect Eyesight? How a New Understanding of Vision Could Change How We See the Spectrum – August 2021 James Sinclair (Me Jan: I’m including this down here because of the high overlap between hypermobility spectrum disorders/EDS/ other Connective Tissue Disorders which lend to vision problem for physical reasons, and autism. This article brings up a few that our doctors may not ever “solve” or be able to.)