Co-occurring Neurodevelopmental Conditions in Children: Advocating for Transdiagnostic Approach to Assessments

Approximately 8% of all children experience developmental and mental health conditions. Similarities in characteristics across neurodevelopmental conditions-such as difficulties in communication and language, social interaction, motor coordination, attention, activity regulation, behavior, mood, and sleep-make it challenging to attribute these characteristics exclusively to specific diagnoses and assessments. The purpose of this study was to identify symptomatic domains across neurodevelopmental conditions in children and to explore dimension reduction for transdiagnostic assessment.

Citation:
Azim SI, Mallitt KA, Wong TY, ……. Whitehouse A. Co-occurring Neurodevelopmental Conditions in Children: Advocating for Transdiagnostic Approach to Assessments. J Autism Dev Disord. 2025.

Keywords:
ADHD; Autism; Co-morbidity; Neurodevelopmental disorder; Transdiagnostic assessment

Abstract:
Approximately 8% of all children experience developmental and mental health conditions. Similarities in characteristics across neurodevelopmental conditions-such as difficulties in communication and language, social interaction, motor coordination, attention, activity regulation, behavior, mood, and sleep-make it challenging to attribute these characteristics exclusively to specific diagnoses and assessments. The purpose of this study was to identify symptomatic domains across neurodevelopmental conditions in children and to explore dimension reduction for transdiagnostic assessment.