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Lucia Margari, Lucia Marzulli, Alessandra Gabellone, Concetta de Giambattista Child Neuropsychiatric Unit, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, ItalyCorrespondence: Lucia MargariChild Neuropsychiatric Unit, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Piazza Giulio Cesare, 11, Bari 70124, ItalyTel +39 80 5592829Email lucia.margari@uniba.itAbstract: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social and communication skills and repetitive and restrictive behaviors. Children and adolescents with ASD are more likely to present feeding problems than their typically developing peers are. The present narrative review of literature aims to highlight the most recent evidence about epidemiology and presentations of eating and mealtime behavioral abnormalities in ASD from infancy to adolescence. Abnormalities in breastfeeding and acceptance of complementary foods have been described by most of the studies evaluating ASD early feeding history. Among the various eating and mealtime behaviors identified in ASD children and adolescents, the most common was food selectivity. The present review also provides brief overviews of the various aspects of food that may influence food acceptance by ASD patients and of the correlation between eating problems and ASD core symptoms, as well as with cognitive level, language skills, and family environment. However, studies evaluating eating problems in ASD children and adolescents are very heterogeneous and they show methodological differences. Moreover, the absence of unique definitions of eating and mealtime behaviors in ASD further limits the comparability of studies.Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, feeding, infancy, childhood, adolescence

Francesco Craig,1 Francesco Margari,2 Anna R Legrottaglie,1 Roberto Palumbi,1 Concetta de Giambattista,1 Lucia Margari1 1Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, 2Psychiatry Unit, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Bari, Italy Abstract: Executive dysfunction has been shown to be a promising endophenotype in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This article reviewed 26 studies that examined executive function comparing ASD and/or ADHD children. In light of findings from this review, the ASD + ADHD group appears to share impairment in both flexibility and planning with the ASD group, while it shares the response inhibition deficit with the ADHD group. Conversely, deficit in attention, working memory, preparatory processes, fluency, and concept formation does not appear to be distinctive in discriminating from ASD, ADHD, or ASD + ADHD group. On the basis of neurocognitive endophenotype, the common co-occurrence of executive function deficits seems to reflect an additive comorbidity, rather than a separate condition with distinct impairments. Keywords: executive function, autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, ASD + ADHD, neurocognitive endophenotype