Children 'may grow out of autism'

[xchrom]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21029593


Is a label of autism lifelong?

***SNIP

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.

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.

[MADem]

1. Misdiagnosed in the first place, maybe?

Just because the researchers "found no reason" doesn't mean there wasn't one--unless they were in the room when the diagnosis was made, they don't have any certainty as to what went down in the initial assessement...

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.

[gkhouston]

2. That would be my thought. n/t

[Warpy]

4. Probably not

Extremely mild forms of the disease are probably like any other congenital problem. Kids simply adapt to them and grow up well in spite of them as long as they get the help that early diagnosis supplies.

As adults, they'll fall in to the "normal but clueless" range.

[MADem]

5. Wouldn't a very mild case be identified in that fashion, though--or missed altogether?

Anything's possible, but I'm just not sold on this study quite yet!

[Warpy]

6. Not necessarily

The symptoms might have been quite striking in a touch-me-not toddler who wasn't beginning to talk. With care, that toddler might grow up to be someone who isn't on the spectrum at all, just a little socially odd.

[SheilaT]

3. Depends on just how severely autistic the child is in the first place.

I have a son with Asperger's, which is considered high-functioning. He's now 30 years old, and if you were to meet him you'd simply think he's a bit shy and very, very smart. He's still terrible at face recognition, and does not do well in group conversation because he cannot spot the small openings that us "normals" can to jump in and add our opinion. But he functions quite well, can hold down a job and is currently back in college working on a B.S. in physics.

But I also wonder if the original diagnosis might have been wrong in the first place.

[Odin2005]

7. On first glance you would never know I'm autistic.

I just seem like a stereotypical nerd who happens to have a stutter. It's only after you've known me for a while that the autistic sensory and social issues become visible.

[dipsydoodle]

8. From experience within my own family.

My sisters first son who is now in his early twenties was diagnosed as autistic at a very early age. It was originally foreseen that he might develop as an adult with a mental age of 8. He struggled at school being slow to learn but always happy to devote himself to learning and as such was perpetually allowed to re-sit subjects. Aside from lacking odd social skills like knowing when appropriate to smile he's just fine now with a job, a car and looking to buy a house.

Her second son had no signs of autism.

Her third son did speak at all until between ages three and four - he's 18 now and just qualified for a university place.

They are all in Australia and gauging by the fact her first son was born 1990 I'd say they are well up on this over there. Due to the closeness of the subject my sister who is early fifties got a degree in psychology last year.