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MyHealthNewsDaily
Children with autism tend to also have other disorders, such as a learning disability or depression, which affect them in different ways as they age, a new study finds.
The findings may explain, in part, why children with autism often see a change in their diagnoses as they grow older, the study suggests.
The study was based on 1,366 children who had taken part in a national health survey who either were currently diagnosed with autism, or had been in the past but no longer had the diagnosis.
"Parents should have their child checked for other conditions to make sure an autism diagnosis is properly determined," said study researcher Li-Ching Lee, a psychiatric epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
"That way, a more appropriate intervention for the child can be planned as early as possible," Lee said.
The study is published today (Jan. 23) in the journal Pediatrics.
Making a proper diagnosis can often be difficult
Autistic spectrum disorders — including autism, Asperger's syndrome and other developmental disorders — affect a child's ability to communicate and interact with people.
About 1 in 110 children in the U.S. is currently diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Boys are four times more likely to have autism than girls.
Symptoms of co-existing medical conditions, such as learning disabilities, hearing and speech problems, depression and anxiety, have been shown to overlap with symptoms of autism, often making it difficult for doctors to make a proper diagnosis.
Previous studies have shown that children with autism have higher rates of co-existing conditions than normally developing children, and those with developmental delays who don't have autism.
How long an autism diagnosis lasts seem to vary over time. One study found that more than 10 percent of children diagnosed with autism at age 2 no longer had the disorder at age 9.
"We're not saying that a child who was diagnosed with autism at age 2 won’t have autism later in life," said lead author Heather Close, a researcher at the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
"But there are other mechanisms at work that we don't know about that could take place," she said.
More than one diagnosis is likely
The new study included 2007 data from the National Survey of Children's Health. Parents were surveyed about their child's physical and mental health, current and past medical, behavioral and developmental diagnoses and health care needs.
Researchers looked at data for children in three age groups, including young children who were 3 to 5 years old, children who were 6 to 11 years old and teenagers who were 12 to 17 years old.
They found that young children with a current diagnosis of autism were 11 times more likely to have a learning disability, and nine times more likely to have another developmental delay, than young children diagnosed with autism in the past who no longer had a diagnosis.
Of those in the 6- to 11-year old group, children with a current diagnosis of autism were almost four times more likely to have a past speech problem and suffer from anxiety than those who no longer had a diagnosis.
And among teenagers, those with a current diagnosis of autism were almost four times more likely to have speech problems, and 10 times more likely to have epilepsy than those who no longer had a diagnosis.
"This study looks at a broader population of kids," than previous work, said Tristram Smith, a behavior specialist at the University of Rochester, who was not part of the study.
"It shows that developmental delay and seizures are what can increase the likelihood that autism will stay in someone who has a current diagnosis," Smith said.
Smith said he recommends that parents learn to understand that diagnoses can change, or there can be more than one.
"Parents are often looking for that one answer," he said. "Reality is, it's a moving target, and it's complicated. It can be more than one diagnosis at one time, or it can be different diagnoses at different times too."
Pass it on: Certain co-existing conditions could likely lead to a change in autism diagnosis.
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Vaccines and Autism Timeline: How the Truth Unfolded
Leave a Comment:
This article and the studies are just ridiculous. For most children with classic autism, a learning disability, speech problems etc are part of autism. There is no separate diagnosis. Again, seizures affect a high percentage of these children. It's part of their encephalopathy(often a complication of autism). Autism is not a mental disorder so it should never have been in the DSM from day 1. Autism is a metabolic disorder affecting every organ in the body. These children suffer from medical condition which can cause learning disabilities, seizures, speech delay etc. They suffer from oxidative stress, immune dysfunction, inflammatory bowel disease, encephalopathy. This piece just clarifies for me how little psychiatrists, and other medical persons understand about autism. This new classification will be devastating for tens of thousands of children who will have no services(as if it's bad enough allready. But there is a reason they do this. It will eliminate the autism epidemic ottally and then they won't have to worry about much needed vaccine studies and the autism numbers will continue to climb.
Maurine Meleck SC
I couldn't have said it better myself Maurine. Bravo!
Here Here Maureen!! As Mike says, could have said it better myself!!
oops sorry meant Maurine!
"Autism is a metabolic disorder affecting every organ in the body. These children suffer from medical condition which can cause learning disabilities, seizures, speech delay etc. They suffer from oxidative stress, immune dysfunction, inflammatory bowel disease, encephalopathy"
You know that infant formula ingredients may contribute to several of the biomedical issues above?
oxidative stress- excessive oxidation of the DHASCO/ARASCO used as structurally altered sources of the polyunsaturated fatty acids DHA/ARA. These triacylglycerols, because of their unnatural positioning among the glycerol backbone may be even more vulnerable to oxidation. If an individual had a metabolic disorder such as a mitochondrial dysfunction, surely a dietary increase may add fuel to the oxidative fire.
Immune dysfunction- Homeostatic control of oxidation is critical for proper cellular signaling and immune responses. DHA is well known to suppress immune function. Oxidized DHA actually exerts numerous effects and may become neuotoxic-Google DHA hydroperoxides or F4-neuroprostanes.
Inflammatory bowel disease- Carrageenan is used as an emulsifier/thickener. Classically used in the lab to promote inflammation. This nasty ingredient actually has a Citizen's Petition filed against it at the FDA due to causing intestinal cell damage. Banned in infant formula in other countries. May degrade in to poligeenan which is a known carcinogen. The symptoms of carrageenan induced intestinal inflammation mirror those of inflammatory bowel disease.
constipation/digestive issues- Palm olein is also a structurally altered triacylglycerol. Because of its positioning of palmitic acid, it is not well absorbed. Worse off, the palmitic acid found esterified in the outer positions among the glycerol backbone tend to react with calcium and magnesium. This causes insoluble soap formation and may result in constipation and malabsorption as well as loss of calcium retention.
Just sharing a little knowledge that I have picked up along the way.