Friday, February 16, 2007

Good motor skills = Better outcomes?

To be honest with you, at this point I'm not sure if I'll commit to this blog or not. I created this blog mainly so I can comment on other people's blogs that only allow Blogger or Google posters (can't they learn how to change the template?). Today however I have come across a very interesting study from the University of Connecticut that suggests what types of autistic kids have a better chance to become higher functioning and even lose the diagnosis:

Abstract: A diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is usually taken to be permanent. In this study, 13 two-year-old children with ASD lost the diagnosis by age 4, at which time they scored within the normal range on standardized measures of cognitive and adaptive functioning. No differences were found in symptom severity, socialization, or communication between children who lost the ASD diagnosis and children who did not, but children with PDD-NOS were significantly more likely than those with full autistic disorder to move off the spectrum. The clearest distinguishing factor was motor skills at age 2. Results support the idea that some toddlers with ASD can lose their diagnosis and suggest that this is difficult to predict.