Finding | Mercury poisoning | Autism spectrum disorder |
Motor | Ataxia | Repetitive behaviors |
Vision | Bilateral visual field constriction | None |
Speech | Dysarthria | Delayed speech, echolalia |
Sensory | Peripheral neuropathy, paresthesias | Decreased responsiveness to pain |
Hyperacusis, hypersensitivity to other sensory stimuli |
Psychiatric | Toxic psychosis; in mild cases, nonspecific depression, anxiety, irritability | Socially aloof, insistence on sameness |
Head size | Small | Large |
Other | In chronic mercury toxicity: hypertension, skin eruption, thrombocytopenia | Seldom seen |