Some children may not show signs of autism later in life, study says

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SALT LAKE CITY — Some children may outgrow their autism diagnosis, according to a new study.

A small study conducted by the National Institutes of Health said that some people who were diagnosed with autism as children showed no symptoms as young adults.

"Although the diagnosis of autism is not usually lost over time, the findings suggest that there is a very wide range of possible outcomes," said National Institute of Mental Health Director Thomas R. Insel, M.D in a press release. "For an individual child, the outcome may be knowable only with time and after some years of intervention. Subsequent reports from this study should tell us more about the nature of autism and the role of therapy and other factors in the long term outcome for these children."

The study was led by Dr. Deborah Fein, a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Connecticut who specializes in autistic disorder research.

Fein and her associates studied 112 people ranging in age from 8 to 21 years old, including 34 "optimal outcome" individuals, who had been diagnosed with autism early on, but were currently functioning similarly to mainstream peers. Two other groups of 34 participants included those with high-functioning autism and their typically developing peers.

Optimal outcome individuals were receiving educational instruction in regular, mainstream classrooms that did not cater to autism. They did not display language or communication struggles or facial recognition and social interaction difficulties.

Those in the optimal outcome group were matched by age, sex and nonverbal IQ with others with high-functioning autism.

The study authors questioned the accuracy of the diagnoses and the severity of the autism form for those who seemed to recover, and they reviewed early diagnostic reports along with a blind diagnostic expert.

Fein also evaluated the current status of the participants using standard cognitive and observational tests looking at intelligence, behavior and social communication.

Previous studies have suggested some individuals diagnosed with autism quit displaying signs of the disorder later on in life, though it is generally considered a lifelong diagnosis.