Children ‘may grow out of autism’
Some young children accurately diagnosed as autistic lose their symptoms and their diagnosis as they get older, say US researchers.
The findings of the National Institutes of Health study of 112 children appears to challenge the widely held belief that autism is a lifelong condition.
While not conclusive, the study, in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, suggests some children might possibly outgrow autism.
But experts urge caution.
Much more work is needed to find out what might explain the findings.
Dr Deborah Fein and her team at the University of Connecticut studied 34 children who had been diagnosed with autism in early childhood but went on to function as well as 34 other children in their classes at school.
Although the diagnosis of autism is not usually lost over time, the findings suggest that there is a very wide range of possible outcomes”
Dr Thomas Insel
Director of the National Institute of Mental Health
On tests - cognitive and observational, as well as reports from the children’s parents and school - they were indistinguishable from their classroom peers. They now showed no sign of problems with language, face recognition, communication or social interaction.
For comparison, the researchers also studied another 44 children of the same age, sex and non-verbal IQ level who had had a diagnosis of “high-functioning” autism - meaning they were deemed to be less severely affected by their condition.
It became clear that the children in the optimal outcome group - the ones who no longer had recognisable signs of autism - had had milder social deficits than the high-functioning autism group in early childhood, although they did have other autism symptoms, like repetitive behaviours and communication problems, that were as severe.
People with autism usually have difficulties with social communication, social interaction and social imagination
It is a spectrum condition meaning while all people with autism share certain difficulties, the condition affects them differently
There are over 500,000 people with autism in the UK - that’s one in every 100
There is no cure but there are a range of interventions available
Source: NHS Choices
The researchers went back and checked the accuracy of the children’s original diagnosis, but found no reason to suspect that they had been inaccurate.
Label for life?
The researchers say there are a number of possible explanations for their findings.
Did you know ...
Autism now affects 1 in 88 children and 1 in 54 boys
Autism prevalence figures are growing
Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
Autism costs a family $60,000 a year on average
Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases
Boys are nearly five times more likely than girls to have autism
There is no medical detection or cure for autism
It might be that some children genuinely outgrow their condition. Or perhaps some can compensate for autism-related difficulties.