Journal on Developmental Disabilities
Le journal sur les handicaps du développement

Abstract

There has been extensive evidence in the literature that people with Fragile X Syndrome (FraX) are at an increased risk of having autism, although it is still unclear how or why these two disorders are related. Even if people with FraX do not fully meet the diagnostic criteria for autism they are very likely to have some typically autistic behaviours such as hand stereotypies, communication abnormalities, and a lack of direct eye contact with others. This paper provides brief descriptions of both autism and FraX, and reviews the behavioural, genetic, and neuroanatomical research on the relationship between the disorders. It is stressed that accurate diagnosis of both autism and FraX are crucial for this type of research. The clinical implications of a relationship between autism and FraX are also described.

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