ABSTRACT
Children with fragile X syndrome can sometimes present with behaviours that might be considered as unusual or troublesome. For example, some children become overly impulsive, hyperactive, display atypical language patterns and aggressive behaviours on occasions. The pattern of these unusual behaviours has led many professionals and parents to wonder whether fragile X is linked with other conditions, most notably autism and/or attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). The aim of this chapter is to provide information on these two well-documented conditions and to show their relationship to (and differences from) fragile X. Current research into autism shows that it is one of the most strongly genetic of the childhood-onset psychiatric disorders. Perhaps any possible connections between autism and or AD/HD and fragile X will be confirmed or denied when the chromosome(s) responsible for autism are identified.
