In a new study, researchers found that positive outcomes for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are more common than previously thought.
This is is one of the biggest longitudinal research studies of its kind in the world.
The research was conducted by a team from The Hospital for Sick Children and elsewhere.
ASD refers to a group of neurodevelopmental conditions resulting in challenges related to communication, social understanding and behavior.
One in 100 people may have ASD and although a person can be diagnosed at any time, ASD symptoms generally appear and are diagnosed in the first few years of life.
In the study, the team used a strengths-based approach to outcome assessments in children with an ASD diagnosis.
They followed 272 children diagnosed with ASD from clinics across Canada from the ages of 2 to 10 years old, or mid-childhood, a notable age as children transition to greater autonomy and increased social and academic demands.
They measured participants’ proficiency (level of competency) and growth (an improvement over time) in five key developmental health areas: communication, socialization, activities of daily living and emotional health (internalizing and externalizing).
The study found that 80% of children experienced growth or proficiency in at least one of the five domains and 23% of children were doing well in four or more of the domains by mid-childhood.
The core to the study approach was shifting the definition of a ‘good outcome’ to ‘doing well’.
The team says it was encouraging to find that most ASD children were doing well by 10 years old by some measure.
The study also examined contextual factors such as household income, parent coping and family functioning (such as positive communication and support among family members).
The findings indicated that higher household income and better family functioning were important predictors in several aspects of doing well—suggesting that adequate income and a well-functioning family may help improve outcomes for a child with ASD.
The study is published in JAMA Network Open. One author of the study is Dr. Peter Szatmari.
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