Children may grow out of autism, suggests new research

Researchers from the University of Connecticut, who carried out the study, recruited 34 children with early histories of autism spectrum disorder who no longer met criteria for any autism spectrum diagnosis and in some cases had lost all symptoms.

They compared these children with an ‘optimal outcome’ to a group of 34 typically developing children. ‘Optimal outcome’ children attended mainstream school and did not receive targeted support.

Standard cognitive and observational tests and parent questionnaires revealed that the ‘optimal outcome’ children were indistinguishable from their peers and now showed no signs of problems with language, face recognition, communication or social interaction.

When compared to 44 children with ‘high functioning autism’ - those less severely affected by their condition -  they found that children in the ‘optimal group’ had milder social deficits in early childhood and had slightly higher verbal IQs, although they did have other symptoms like repetitive behaviours and communication problems, that were as severe.

Deborah Fein from the University of Connecticut, who led the study, said, ‘All children with autism spectrum disorder are capable of making progress with intensive therapy, but with our current state of knowledge most do not achieve the kind of optimal outcome that we are studying. Our hope is that further research will help us better understand the mechanisms of change so that each child can have the best possible life.’