Clinicians apparently are getting better at diagnosing autism in young children

Clinicians apparently are getting better at diagnosing autism in young children. More than 75% of those diagnosed at age two still appear to have it at age nine, according to a report by a specialist at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Autism is a developmental condition characterized by difficulties with social interactions and communication and a tendency toward restricted and repetitive behaviors. Parents usually identify problems in their offspring during the first year of life, but most diagnoses usually are not made until children are older, says Catherine Lord, director of the Autism and Communications Center.

COPYRIGHT 2006 Society for the Advancement of Education
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning