Loading...
Although the prevalence and recognition of heterogeneity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have grown in the past decade, relatively few data inform discussions about a child's prognosis into adult life. These investigators longitudinally studied a subsample of a cohort of children with special needs (N=56,946) born in 1990 and 1991 in southeast England.
The analysis involved 158 individuals meeting ASD criteria (132 boys; childhood autism, 81; other pervasive developmental disorders, 77). At wave 1, children were aged 10 to 12; wave 2 involved 100 children aged 15 or 16 and with IQs ≥50; wave 3 included 126 participants aged 23. Factors studied included autism symptoms, language function, IQ, psychiatric comorbidities, history of language r…