Some Children Recover Completely from Autism

Some children can outgrow autism completely, according to a new study.

Bringing hope for parents with autistic children, a team of researchers led by Dr. Deborah Fein from the University of Connecticut, Storrs, found some autistic children recovering from the disorder, losing the symptoms as they got older.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which starts normally by age three, is a developmental disorder that leads to significant social, communication and behavioral changes. Nearly one in every 88 children in the United States is affected with this disorder.

Until date, ASD was considered to be permanent, a disorder that stays through a person's life. No medical or blood test is available for an early diagnosis of the condition. The behavior and development of the child are some factors used by health practitioners to determine the disorder.

For the study, Fein and colleagues included 34 optimal outcome children who were initially diagnosed with autism and whose symptoms faded as they grew older. The nonverbal IQ of these children was compared with that of children with high-functioning autism (44) and normal children (34). All the participants were aged between eight and 21 years old.

To reach a conclusion, researchers first analyzed the early diagnostic reports of the health practitioners. Later they sought the help of a diagnostic expert to review the participants' reports. The experts were not provided with the participants' medical history or current status. For accuracy, researchers also removed details about the children's early autism diagnoses from the reports. Experts found that children in the optimal outcome group possessed communication and behavioral symptoms similar to the high-functioning autism group in early childhood, but milder social deficits.

Cognitive and observational tests were conducted to analyze the children's present condition. Apart from that, information was also collected from parents through questionnaires. Researchers found that children from the optimal outcome group didn't experience any difficulties in communicating/interacting with others or problems with language or face recognition.

"All children with ASD 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,"  Dr. Fein said in a news release. "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."

The findings are reported in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.