Catatonia as a presentation of autism in a child: a case report

Robin Quilliam; Samantha Quilliam; Morag Turnbull; Shelagh Parkinson; Godwin Oligbu; Robin Quilliam; Samantha Quilliam; Morag Turnbull; Shelagh Parkinson; Godwin Oligbu

doi:10.3934/Neuroscience.2020019

AIMS Neuroscience

2020, Volume 7, Issue 3: 327-332. doi: 10.3934/Neuroscience.2020019

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Case report

Catatonia as a presentation of autism in a child: a case report

Department of Paediatrics, Dr Gray's Hospital, NHS Grampian, Scotland, United Kingdom

Received: 29 July 2020 Accepted: 03 September 2020 Published: 08 September 2020

Catatonia commonly refers to a cluster of movement abnormalities, behaviour, volition and speech that has long been associated with psychiatric disorders in adults. Recent evidence suggests increasing prevalence in adolescents and older children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), but its occurrence in younger children is rare. Here we describe a 6-year-old boy presenting with catatonic autism, highlighting the diagnostic challenge and demonstrating the importance of timely assessment and management.
- catatonia,
- autism,
- child,
- lorazepam
Citation: Robin Quilliam, Samantha Quilliam, Morag Turnbull, Shelagh Parkinson, Godwin Oligbu. Catatonia as a presentation of autism in a child: a case report[J]. AIMS Neuroscience, 2020, 7(3): 327-332. doi: 10.3934/Neuroscience.2020019

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Abstract

Catatonia commonly refers to a cluster of movement abnormalities, behaviour, volition and speech that has long been associated with psychiatric disorders in adults. Recent evidence suggests increasing prevalence in adolescents and older children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), but its occurrence in younger children is rare. Here we describe a 6-year-old boy presenting with catatonic autism, highlighting the diagnostic challenge and demonstrating the importance of timely assessment and management.

Consent

Informed consent was obtained from the family for publication of this case report and any accompanying images.

Contributors' statement

GO conceptualized and designed the study. RQ reviewed the literature, analysed the result, wrote the first draft, and co-ordinated the production of the manuscript. RQ and GO had full access to all the results in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the results and the accuracy of the data. All authors were involved in the interpretation of the result and writing the report; all authors approved the final version.

Conflict of interest

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

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