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Seizures are associated with cognitive disengagement syndrome, incoordination, and low IQ in child ADHD and autism

Paola Velázquez González1, Eliana Rosenthal1, Daniel A Waschbusch1

  • 1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA.

Applied Neuropsychology. Child
|August 7, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Children with autism and ADHD experiencing seizures often have lower IQ and cognitive issues. Controlling for IQ significantly reduces the association with other psychological problems.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Pediatric Neurology

Background:

  • Seizures are common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
  • Previous research has not comprehensively compared children with and without seizures within large clinical ASD/ADHD samples.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare children with and without seizures regarding diagnoses, IQ, neuropsychological, achievement, and psychological functioning.
  • To investigate the impact of controlling for IQ on the association between seizures and other variables.

Main Methods:

  • A large clinical sample of 2,212 children (4-17 years) with ASD and/or ADHD rated on the Pediatric Behavior Scale.
  • Neuropsychological and academic achievement testing for a subgroup (n=820, 6-16 years).
  • Comparison with a population-based contrast sample (0.8% vs 2.8% seizure prevalence).

Main Results:

  • Seizures were significantly associated with lower IQ, cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS), and incoordination.
  • No significant differences were found between autism, ADHD-Combined, and ADHD-Inattentive subtypes regarding seizures.
  • After controlling for IQ, all other tested variables, including cognitive, academic, and behavioral measures, became nonsignificant.

Conclusions:

  • Lower IQ is a primary factor linking seizures to other psychological and cognitive issues in children with ASD/ADHD.
  • Clinical practice should assess for CDS, motor incoordination, and low IQ in children with seizures.
  • Future research must control for IQ when examining seizure associations in this population.

Keywords:
ADHDIQautismcognitive disengagement syndromeseizures

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