Abstract
Thirty, 2-year-old children referred for possible autism were evaluated using a parent interview, a rating scale and psychometric tests and reassessed one year later. Clinical diagnosis was relatively stable across time; diagnosis using the formal measures changed significantly, particularly for younger and more developmentally delayed children. Several patterns contributed to the increasing differentiation of children with autism from age 2 to 3, including the development of clearly recognizable, repetitive behaviors in the autistic children and significant improvements in basic social skills in the children judged not to be autistic.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
MeSH terms
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Autistic Disorder / classification
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Autistic Disorder / diagnosis*
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Autistic Disorder / psychology
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Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / classification
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Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / diagnosis
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Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / psychology
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Child, Preschool
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Communication
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Diagnosis, Differential
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Female
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Follow-Up Studies
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Humans
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Language Development Disorders / classification
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Language Development Disorders / diagnosis
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Language Development Disorders / psychology
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Male
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Patient Care Team
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Personality Assessment
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Social Behavior
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Stereotyped Behavior