Broad autism phenotype

The broad autism phenotype (BAP) describes people who have some autistic traits, but not enough to merit an official diagnosis. This is more common in family members of autistic people.What Is the Broad Autism Phenotype?Losh M, Childress D, Lam K, Piven J. Defining key features of the broad autism phenotype: a comparison across parents of multiple- and single-incidence autism families. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet. 2008 Jun 5;147B(4):424-33. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.b.30612. PMID: 17948871; PMCID: PMC2746421.
The label is somewhat controversial. Some people think it conflicts with the neurodiversity model while others think it makes sense within it. Also, there's a risk of high-masking autistic people being mislabeled as BAP, meaning they may not get the support they need.
BAP people may have:Gerdts J, Bernier R. The broader autism phenotype and its implications on the etiology and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. Autism Res Treat. 2011;2011:545901. doi: 10.1155/2011/545901. Epub 2011 Aug 17. PMID: 22937250; PMCID: PMC3420416.
* Some social and communication skill differences
* Some difficulty understanding others
* Differences in cognitive abilities (e.g. enhanced visual-spatial skills)
* Impaired executive functioning
* Larger head circumference
* Differences in neural functioning and structure
== Quotes ==
What kind of comorbid psychiatric disorders occur in ASC? Which are the most prevalent differential diagnoses in a sample of patients who seek autism specific clinical diagnostics? 118 adults who were referred with a presumed diagnosis of autistic disorder, were diagnosed with autism specific instruments and the prevalence of further psychiatric disorders was investigated. 59 (50%) fulfilled the criteria of ASC. 36% of the individuals with ASC fulfilled also criteria for a DSM-IV axis-I psychiatric disorder. Affective disorders (24%) and social phobia (14%) were the most prevalent comorbid disorders. The most frequent differential diagnoses were depression, social phobia, paranoid, avoidant and narcissistic personality disorder.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24234289/
==R==
Autism; Comorbidity; Phenotype
Category:Autism
Category:Genetics
Category:Personality