How well does early diagnosis of autism stand the test of time? Follow-up study of children assessed for autism at age 2 and development of an early diagnostic service

Twenty children who presented with severe interactional and communication difficulties at age 2 underwent a comprehensive assessment for autism, and were reassessed at age 4-5. In common with other recent studies, diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders at age 2 was found to be reliable and stable. The communication and social skills of the children showed little change overall by the second assessment. However, children whose scores deteriorated in the social domain tended to have presented initially with more significant behaviour problems. Few repetitive behaviours were observed at age 2, whereas these were more apparent by age 4-5. The finding that early diagnosis of autism is reliable and stable has led to the development of an early diagnostic service in Southampton, which is described. The importance of early diagnosis is that it opens the door to early intervention programmes, which in turn prevent many problems from occurring in later life.