Individuals with symptoms of autism continue to grow and change over time.
Autism is a spectrum disorder that involves developmental and bio-neurological changes in individuals. A child with autism has difficulties primarily with social interaction and spoken communication. Symptoms of autism are seen to lessen and decline over time.
To assess the symptoms of autism, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis studied the changes in the behaviour of 241 adolescents and adults over a period of four and a half years. These subjects were initially aged 10 to 52 years, with their average age being 22 years. The study involved examining a broad range of typical autistic symptoms including impaired verbal and nonverbal communication, impaired social interaction and repetitive behaviours. Besides these, broader maladaptive behaviours such as aggression and self-injury that are not specific to autism were also looked at.
The results showed that the symptoms of autism tended to decline with age. For all major symptoms of autism, the percentage of people who improved was always greater than the percentage that worsened. Individuals with mental retardation had more autism symptoms and maladaptive behaviours than those without mental retardation, and they improved less over time. Compared to adolescents, older sample members (31 and older) had fewer maladaptive behaviours and experienced more improvement in these behaviours over time. There was significant improvement for 19 of the 32 autism symptoms and seven of the eight maladaptive behaviours.
Thus, changes keep taking place in individuals with autism spectrum disorders and some of their symptoms can decline with age.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders,
October 2007
October 2007