BMJ  2003;327:488-493 (30 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7413.488

Clinical review

Diagnosis of autism

¹ Newcomen Centre, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust, London SE1 9RT, ² Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, London

Parents want autism to be diagnosed as early as possible, and early intervention may improve long term outcomes. The authors of this review discuss the identification and assessment process for children with autism and autistic spectrum disorder

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Introduction

Autistic spectrum disorders have been the subject of increasing attention over the past few years—from the media, from clinicians, and from the general public. Stories of savants who excel in such skills as calendar calculations and detailed drawings have long been a fascination to public and clinician alike, exemplified in Dustin Hoffman's portrayal of a young man with autism in the film Rainman. Most recently, public anxiety about autism has been raised as a result of reports linking the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine with autism and inflammatory bowel disorder and a rise in the prevalence of autism.^{1 2} This has resulted in a serious fall in immunisation rates,³ despite the epidemiological evidence of a lack of association,⁴ and strong reassurance from the Department of Health and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health about the safety of the MMR vaccine. Parents of children with autism continue to . . . [Full text of this article]

What is autism?

Is autism increasing in prevalence?

Identification of autism

Regression

Assessment process

What happens after assessment?

Evaluation of intervention

Ongoing care

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