Posted: Jan 17, 2013 8:54 PM by Michelle Castillo - CBS News
Some children diagnosed with autism in early childhood may no
longer have the disorder as they grow older, according to
research funded by the National Institutes of Health. "Although
the diagnosis of autism is not usually lost over time, the
findings suggest that there is a very wide range of possible
outcomes," said Dr. Thomas R. Insel, NIMH director, said in a
press release. "For an individual child, the outcome may be
knowable only with time and after some years of intervention."
Autism spectrum disorders are a group of developmental disorders
that cause behavioral, social and communication problems. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate one in 88
children have an ASD. The new study looked at 34 children
between 8 and 21 who had an "optimal outcome," meaning they were
diagnosed with autism earlier in life but functioned normally
compared to their peers later on. These subjects were matched by
age, sex, and nonverbal IQ with 44