Around 30 per cent of children with autism have seen their symptoms ease between the ages of three and six, say researchers from the University of California, Davis Health.
They tracked 125 children – 89 boys and 36 girls – with autism and continually measured their symptoms during their early childhood. The severity of the symptoms in around half of the children stayed the same, and in 16 percent of cases it worsened – but in nearly 30 percent the symptoms improved, and in a small group of those the autism disappeared altogether.
The researchers aren’t sure why symptoms changed but they point to substantial brain growth that is happening in those early years. It also manifests differently in boys and girls, and girls are also more likely to see symptoms improve. Intelligence also seems to have a bearing; children with a higher IQ were more likely to see their autism improve.
From now on, you won’t be able to buy WDDTY in a store, as we are reverting to a subscription-only magazine. The reason goes to the very heart of what this publication stands for. As a newsstand title, we were being censored in all sorts of subtle and not-so-subtle ways by a retail trade that chose never to support press freedoms. But we don’t want to stop you from getting vital information which is why we’ve curated this special subscription offer just for you. By subscribing you can still get direct access to all this information every month, via a subscription, as thousands of others do.
(Source: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2020; doi: 10.1007/s10803-020-04526-z)
What do you think? Start a conversation over on the... WDDTY Community
