REVIEW

How to diagnose autism

Clare J Dover¹, Ann Le Couteur²

¹ Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust, Fleming Nuffield Unit, Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
² School of Clinical Medical Sciences, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Sir James Spence Institute, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Professor A Le Couteur
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust, Fleming Nuffield Unit, Burdon Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 3AE, UK; A.S.Le-Couteur{at}newcastle.ac.uk

Over the past two decades, there has been an explosion of interest in autism and autism spectrum disorders. Knowledge and awareness of the condition has grown exponentially at all levels among the general public, parents, health professionals, the research community and, more recently, at parliamentary level. Alongside the increased understanding of these complex and disabling conditions is the acknowledgment of a broadening of the diagnostic criteria away from a narrow definition of autism to the autism spectrum with less clear diagnostic boundaries. Growing evidence of the importance of early diagnosis and intervention demands knowledge and skills from all professionals working with young children and in particular those involved in recognising early concerns about a child’s development. This article outlines current clinical and research findings in relation to early diagnosis and considers the role of the paediatrician in this process. Reference is also made to the National Autism Plan for Children.

Abbreviations: ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; ASD, autism spectrum disorder; GFCF, gluten-free casein-free; MAA, multiagency assessment; NAPC, National Autism Plan for Children; PDD-NOS, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Article

A brief digest of the June issue
Arch. Dis. Child. 2007 92: e6. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Loo, C. Y., Graham, R. M., Hughes, C. V. (2008). The Caries Experience and Behavior of Dental Patients With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of the American Dental Association 139: 1518-1524 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Hines, R. M., Wu, L., Hines, D. J., Steenland, H., Mansour, S., Dahlhaus, R., Singaraja, R. R., Cao, X., Sammler, E., Hormuzdi, S. G., Zhuo, M., El-Husseini, A. (2008). Synaptic Imbalance, Stereotypies, and Impaired Social Interactions in Mice with Altered Neuroligin 2 Expression. J. Neurosci. 28: 6055-6067 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Caronna, E B, Milunsky, J M, Tager-Flusberg, H (2008). Autism spectrum disorders: clinical and research frontiers. Arch. Dis. Child. 93: 518-523 [Abstract] [Full Text]