While the majority of individuals with Costello syndrome share characteristic findings affecting multiple organ systems, the phenotypic spectrum is wide, ranging from a milder or attenuated phenotype to a severe phenotype with early lethal complications. Costello syndrome is typically characterized by failure to thrive in infancy as a result of severe postnatal feeding difficulties; short stature; developmental delay or intellectual disability; coarse facial features (full lips, large mouth, full nasal tip); curly or sparse, fine hair; loose, soft skin with deep palmar and plantar creases; papillomata of the face and perianal region; diffuse hypotonia and joint laxity with ulnar deviation of the wrists and fingers; tight Achilles tendons; and cardiac involvement including: cardiac hypertrophy (usually typical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy), congenital heart defect (usually valvar pulmonic stenosis), and arrhythmia (usually supraventricular tachycardia, especially chaotic atrial rhythm/multifocal atrial tachycardia or ectopic atrial tachycardia). Relative or absolute macrocephaly is typical, and postnatal cerebellar overgrowth can result in the development of a Chiari I malformation with associated anomalies including hydrocephalus or syringomyelia. Individuals with Costello syndrome have an approximately 15% lifetime risk for malignant tumors including rhabdomyosarcoma and neuroblastoma in young children and transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder in adolescents and young adults.

An extremely rare subtype of autosomal recessive intermediate Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease characterized by a CMT neuropathy associated with developmental delay, self-abusive behavior, dysmorphic features and vestibular Schwannoma. Motor nerve conduction velocities demonstrate features of both demyelinating and axonal pathology.

Schwannomatosis is characterized by a predisposition to develop multiple schwannomas and, less frequently, meningiomas. Individuals with schwannomatosis most commonly present between the second and fourth decade of life. The most common presenting feature is localized or diffuse pain or asymptomatic mass. Schwannomas most often affect peripheral nerves and spinal nerves. Meningiomas occur in about 5% of individuals with schwannomatosis and have only been reported in individuals with SMARCB1-related schwannomatosis. Malignancy remains a theoretic risk especially in individuals with a SMARCB1 pathogenic variant.