Explaining differences in age at autism spectrum disorder diagnosis: A critical review

The diagnosis of autism is often delayed, which translates into a missed opportunity to provide treatment during a critical developmental period. This study reviews studies that assessed factors associated with age at autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and provides recommendations on future research...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Autism : the international journal of research and practice Vol. 18; no. 5; pp. 583 - 597
Main Authors: Daniels, Amy M, Mandell, David S
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.07.2014
Sage Publications
Subjects:
Age Differences
Autism
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child clinical studies
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - diagnosis
Child, Preschool
Client Characteristics (Human Services)
Delayed Diagnosis - statistics & numerical data
Delivery Systems
Developmental disorders
Early Diagnosis
Early Intervention
Educational Diagnosis
Ethnicity
Female
Gender Differences
Geographic Location
Health Services
Humans
Infantile autism
Literature Reviews
Male
Medical sciences
Meta Analysis
Parent Attitudes
Performance Factors
Pervasive Developmental Disorders
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Sex Factors
Specialists
early diagnosis
delayed diagnosis
autism spectrum disorders
Developmental disorder
Review
Autism spectrum disorder
Time lag
Autism
Pervasive developmental disorder
Critical study
Early
Diagnosis
Age
ISSN:1362-3613, 1461-7005, 1461-7005
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The diagnosis of autism is often delayed, which translates into a missed opportunity to provide treatment during a critical developmental period. This study reviews studies that assessed factors associated with age at autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and provides recommendations on future research, programs, and policies to improve early detection. A search for all peer-reviewed articles containing the words autism, age, and diagnosis in either the title or abstract was performed. A total of 42 studies published from January 1990 through March 2012 were identified. Mean age at diagnosis for all autism spectrum disorders ranged from 38 to 120 months and has decreased over time. Factors associated with earlier diagnosis included greater symptom severity, high socioeconomic status, and greater parental concern about initial symptoms. Family interactions with the health and education systems prior to diagnosis also influenced age at diagnosis. Geographic variation in age at autism spectrum disorder diagnosis was identified in a number of studies, suggesting that community resources and state policies play a role in early identification. Early detection efforts should include enhanced parental and provider education on the early recognition of developmental problems, interventions aimed at streamlining the process from first concern to eventual diagnosis, and strategies that target underserved populations.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
ObjectType-Review-3
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ISSN:1362-3613
1461-7005
1461-7005
DOI:10.1177/1362361313480277