No contact by subjects is needed at this time. Lyme disease has been associated with a broad array of neuropsychiatric disorders. Undoubtedly, the most common are headaches and stiff neck in early neurologic Lyme Disease and mild to moderate cognitive problems in later neurologic Lyme Disease. This latter syndrome has been termed encephalopathy. Lyme Disease may also cause considerable irritability, particularly in the acute phase of the illness, as well as less common symptoms such as paranoia, obsessive compulsive behaviors, or mania.
Autism is classically considered to be a neurodevelopmental disorder, the cause of which is unknown.
The latter hypothesis will be tested using geographic mapping. Certainly if a child was well until age 4 and then develops significant abnormalities in social interaction, language, or imaginative play, this would not be typical of autism which is a disorder that shows signs and symptoms prior to age 3. Autistic behaviors that emerge after age 3 would be diagnosed as either Asperger.s or possibly childhood disintegrative disorder. Childhood disintegrative disorder in particular may be associated with various general medical conditions, such as Addison-Schilder.s disease or subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. Medical conditions need to be ruled out in children who develop these disorders after age 3.