Comorbidity guide
The co-occurrence rates are sobering: anxiety disorders (40%), depression (20-30% in adults), ADHD (50-70%), OCD (17%), PTSD (up to 40% in autistic adults), and eating disorders (elevated rates, particularly in autistic women). Suicidal ideation is reported by approximately 35% of autistic adults, and suicide attempt rates are estimated at 3-4 times the general population rate.
Diagnostic overshadowing — where mental health symptoms are attributed to autism rather than recognized as separate treatable conditions — is a pervasive problem. An autistic person's social withdrawal may be dismissed as "part of their autism" when it actually signals clinical depression. Changes in routine adherence may indicate OCD rather than autism-related rigidity.
Assessment requires clinicians who understand both autism and mental health. Standard screening tools (PHQ-9 for depression, GAD-7 for anxiety) may be unreliable in autistic populations because they assume neurotypical symptom presentation. Autism-specific mental health measures are still being developed.
Ontario's mental health system offers several pathways: Children's Mental Health Ontario agencies (free for children and youth), the Ontario Structured Psychotherapy program (free CBT for adults), community mental health centres, private psychotherapy (covered by some group benefits), and crisis services (Crisis Text Line, Kids Help Phone, local crisis teams).
The key challenge is finding clinicians who can adapt evidence-based mental health treatments for autistic clients. Standard CBT, DBT, and other therapies require modification — including visual supports, concrete language, reduced reliance on abstract concepts, and accommodation of sensory and communication differences. Relatively few Ontario therapists have specific training in these adaptations.
For crisis situations, Ontario provides several autism-aware resources: the Autism Ontario Crisis Support line, Community Networks of Specialized Care regional teams, and hospital emergency departments (though ER environments are often extremely challenging for autistic individuals due to sensory overload).
Lai, M.C. et al.
Prevalence of Mental Health Conditions and Disorders in Autistic Individuals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Lancet Psychiatry, 2019; 6(10):819-829
Cassidy, S. et al.
Suicidality and Self-Harm in Autism Spectrum Conditions: Systematic Review. Lancet Psychiatry, 2018; 5(4):318-327
Written by Spencer Carroll
Founder & Autism Advocate
Evidence on this page
Key claims are paired with their source, evidence tier, and verification date so readers can inspect the public record directly.
1 in 50
According to the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth, about children and youth aged 1 to 17 in Canada had an autism diagnosis
89,799
children are registered in the Ontario Autism Program
WHO recommends accessible, community-based early interventions for children with autism — timely evidence-based psychosocial interventions improve communication and social engagement
23%
Only 20,633 children have active funding agreements — less than one in four