May 12, 2006 -- Study Finds Delays in Diagnosing Autism

Children are often first diagnosed as having autism spectrum disorders (ASD) after they display language or general developmental delays, and 24 percent of the children diagnosed with ASDs are identified at schools, according to a study reported in an April supplement to the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. The study also found that there is often a long delay—an average of 13 months—between the time the children are initially evaluated and the time they are actually diagnosed as having autism. Children with the more severe symptoms tend to be diagnosed somewhat earlier, but even for those children the average age of diagnosis is three and a half years, and many are not diagnosed until age four and a half. This is of concern, said the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), because early identification of ASD can lead to earlier entrance into intervention programs that can improve developmental outcome. “It is important for parents and healthcare professionals to recognize early symptoms of ASDs,” the CDC said. “It is also important that children with identified delays be administered routine developmental and autism-specific screenings.” The Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics can be accessed at www.jrnldbp.com. Information about the early signs of autism is available at www.cdc.gov/actearly.