Comparative Study on the Caregiver Burden of Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder Attending the Child Psychiatry Clinic of a Tertiary Care Hospital in Kolkata

Background: Studies show that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) place a significant burden and stigma on caregivers, economically as well as socially, psychologically, and emotionally (Gabra and Hashem, 2021).This study aims to evaluate various psychological aspects of the caregivers, the caregiver burden of the children with these disorders, and compare the findings of the same.A cross-sectional, analytical study was designed including 120 caregivers (60 caregivers of autism vs 60 caregivers of ADHD); all of them were assessed for (1) anxiety; (2) depression; and (3) caregiver burden. Results:The results of the study show that the anxiety and depression among the caregivers with children with ASD and ADHD are very high.The level of caregiver burden is high among the caregivers of children with ASD. Conclusion:This study supports the notion that both ADHD and ASD pose a great challenge for their caregivers, which is higher in ASD than ADHD caregivers.