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Can kids outgrow autism?
New study finds that some kids diagnosed with autism outgrow their symptoms with age.
Wed, Jan 16 2013 at 1:00 PM

Photo: alesia17/sxc

Is it possible for children to outgrow autism?
 
Autism has always been considered a lifelong diagnosis, but a new study might just refute that claim.
 
According to a study published recently in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, some young children who were diagnosed as autistic might outgrow both their symptoms and their diagnosis as they get older. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health included children, teens, and young adults who were diagnosed as autistic as children but then moved off the autism spectrum as they grew older.  
 
For the study, Dr. Deborah Fein from the University of Connecticut and her research team evaluated 34 children who had been diagnosed with autism in early childhood as well as 34 other children in their classes at school. These children were then compared with another group of 44 children who were the same age and sex and had the same non-verbal IQ scores but were diagnosed as having "high-functioning" autism, in other words, they were less severely affected by their condition.
 
Using both cognitive and observation tests, researchers found that children who were originally diagnosed as autistic no longer had distinguishable symptoms of the condition. These children showed no sign of problems with language, face recognition, communication or social interaction.
 
So, did these children outgrow autism? It's possible, but researchers urge caution when interpreting these results. Another possibility is that the children had learned how to expertly compensate for their autistic symptoms.
 
In either case, it's potentially good news for children who are diagnosed with autism, and the families who love them.
 

The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.

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Achieve Beyond Jan 31 2013 at 11:43 AM

New knowledge about autism is coming out everyday. These new links from the various studies will continue to come out since research on autism is happening much more frequently today. Until more research is done these studies will not lead to conclusive results, but at least awareness of the disorder continues to grow in this country so more progress can continue to be made

Jon
Achieve Beyond Pediatric Therapy and Autism Services
http://www.achievebeyondusa.com

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anonymous
Treating Autism Jan 17 2013 at 2:38 PM
Our charity, Treating Autism, has close to a thousand member families. Many of them have seen incredible changes in their children with ASD diagnoses when using appropriate interventions. Some of these children have completely recovered, and no one, regardless of their expertise in autism, would see any traces of their former diagnoses. This type of recovery is still fairly rare, although in a survey conducted of our members, some of whom are adults with ASD treating themselves, 95% of respondents
.... More
said that interventions had proven beneficial, and 24% responded that biomedical treatments had been 'life-changing'. We know that the sort of 'optimal outcomes' discussed in Fein's research would be a lot more common if people with autism and their families were given the sorts of support--medical and otherwise--that they need, and if professionals were basing their actions on the fact that ASD is not necessarily a life-long diagnosis. Sadly, the vast majority of these families receive little to no appropriate help. We hope, for the sake of our children, many of whom are now adults, that this study and other current research will be taken seriously by the professionals who, by perpetuating the erroneous belief autism is by definition a lifelong disorder, do a disservice to those who might benefit from interventions aimed at addressing core symptoms of autism. Treating Autism Trustees
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