Occasionally, stories emerge of individuals whoseautism traitsappear to have resolved. These stories usually relate to one or another therapeutic approach—Applied Behavioral Analysis, Floortime, a change in diet, or some other technique for improving their autistic traits.
However, while autism traits can improve, it is not possible for someone with an accurate diagnosis to simply “outgrow” autism.
This article will discuss why it’s not possible for a correct autism diagnosis to be outgrown. It will also address how therapeutic interventions can help cope with the challenges that the traits of autism can present.
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Can Autism Traits Go Away?
According to the DSM-5 (the diagnostic manual that currently describes mental and developmental disorders in the United States and many other nations), the answer is no: it is not possible to grow out of autism.
In other words, autistic traits start early and continue throughout life, though adults may be able to “mask” their traits—at least in some situations. If a person does appear to outgrow early autism traits completely, that means they were not correctly diagnosed initially.
Autism Can Be Misdiagnosed
Treatment Can Improve Traits Over Time
Early interventions can help autistic children gain life skills and social skills that will serve them well in life. Some improve a great deal.
Practitioners of virtually every major type of autism therapy can tell stories of a child who started with intense challenges and, over time, built significant skills. These children are sometimes described as “recovered” or “indistinguishable from typical peers.”
The reality, however, is that most children who appear to have overcome their autistic traits have either been cured of some physical problem that caused autism-like traits or learned coping techniques and behaviors that effectively mask their autistic traits.
How Can Early Intervention Help Autism Traits?
Beginning to put support into place as early as possible gives people the greatest opportunity to make the most of their potential. The younger the patient, the more plasticity the brain has. This means the brain can more easily make new connections and has a greater capacity for growth.
Speech and Language Therapy:Speech therapycan be helpful to many autistic people, whether it is a nonverbal child or someone with strong verbal skills who could use support using speech in social situations, interpreting body language, or understanding idioms.
Occupational Therapy:Occupational therapyaims to enhance essential life skills, such as the ability to dress, eat, groom, and handle bathroom tasks independently. Alternatively, it may concentrate on refining fine motor abilities like writing, coloring, and using scissors.
Sensory Integration Therapy: This type of therapy is aimed at helping autistic people manage any sensory sensitivities they might experience. For example, loud noises or the sound of crowded places might feel overwhelming for an autistic person.Sensory integration therapyhelps people pinpoint and find solutions for difficult sensory experiences.
Floortime/Play Therapy:Play therapycan help kids to learn social skills and communication through playing in a way that makes it interesting to them. It can also help autistic people build relationships with others.Floortimeis a form of play therapy commonly used to help joyfully engage autistic children.
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA): ABA is a treatment approach that aims to change the behaviors of autistic people to be more like their neurotypical peers. However, there has been controversy about ABA.
About Applied Behavioral AnalysisApplied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)is a controversial approach. It is a standard treatment, and its supporters say it is designed to help autistic people build life and relationship skills. However, autism advocates assert that ABA is purely a form of behavioral modification and trains autistic people to act more like their neurotypical peers, eliminating the traits they consider problematic. They say there are better ways to respect autistic people and help them to gain life skills.
About Applied Behavioral Analysis
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)is a controversial approach. It is a standard treatment, and its supporters say it is designed to help autistic people build life and relationship skills. However, autism advocates assert that ABA is purely a form of behavioral modification and trains autistic people to act more like their neurotypical peers, eliminating the traits they consider problematic. They say there are better ways to respect autistic people and help them to gain life skills.
What Traits Are Most Likely to Improve?
Now and then, a child with relatively intense autism traits improves to the point where they can experience a typical school setting. In the United States, many regulations stipulate that autistic children be educated in the least restrictive environment possible.
While inclusion in that environment may be appropriate for a period of time, most autistic children with moderate or high support needs find it difficult or impossible to manage increasingly complex demands in social communication, executive functioning, and abstract reasoning.
In addition, many general education teachers do not have the level of professional development or specialized training needed to most benefit their autistic students.
The reality is that significant improvement is most likely in autistic kids with low support needs, and whose autism traits or diagnosis does not include seizures, speech delay, learning disabilities, or extreme anxiety. Those with more neurotypical IQ scores, spoken language skills, and other existing strengths are most likely to show advancement.
Even autistic kids with low support needs may still struggle with a variety of issues. They will likely have sensory challenges, social communication difficulties, anxiety, and other problems. They may eventually be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), social anxiety, or the relatively newsocial communication disorder.
Is It Autism or ADHD?
Summary
While autistic people can gain life skills that might appear to diminish their autism traits, there is no cure for autism and autism traits do not just go away. Those autistic kids who experience dramatic improvement usually have low support needs or had an underlying condition that was mistaken for autism in the first place.
Therapies such as ABA, play therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy can all make a positive difference for your child, as can medications to mitigate anxiety, manage seizures, and improve sleep.
6 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Wiggins LD, Rice CE, Barger B, et al.DSM-5 criteria for autism spectrum disorder maximizes diagnostic sensitivity and specificity in preschool children.Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2019;54(6):693-701. doi:10.1007/s00127-019-01674-1Hus Y, Segal O.Challenges surrounding the diagnosis of autism in children.Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2021;17:3509-3529. doi:10.2147/NDT.S282569Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. National Institutes of Health.Speech-language therapy for autism.Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. National Institutes of Health.Occupational therapy for autism.Divya K, Begum F, John SE, Francis F.Dir/floor time in engaging autism: a systematic review.Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res. 2023;28(2):132-138. doi:10.4103/ijnmr.ijnmr_272_21Al Jaffal M.Barriers general education teachers face regarding the inclusion of students with autism.Front Psychol. 2022;13:873248. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.873248Additional ReadingEigstia, Inge-Marie.Language comprehension and brain function in individuals with an optimal outcome from autism. NeuroImage: Clinical.Treffert, Darold.Outgrowing autism? A closer look at children who read early or speak late. Scientific American.
6 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Wiggins LD, Rice CE, Barger B, et al.DSM-5 criteria for autism spectrum disorder maximizes diagnostic sensitivity and specificity in preschool children.Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2019;54(6):693-701. doi:10.1007/s00127-019-01674-1Hus Y, Segal O.Challenges surrounding the diagnosis of autism in children.Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2021;17:3509-3529. doi:10.2147/NDT.S282569Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. National Institutes of Health.Speech-language therapy for autism.Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. National Institutes of Health.Occupational therapy for autism.Divya K, Begum F, John SE, Francis F.Dir/floor time in engaging autism: a systematic review.Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res. 2023;28(2):132-138. doi:10.4103/ijnmr.ijnmr_272_21Al Jaffal M.Barriers general education teachers face regarding the inclusion of students with autism.Front Psychol. 2022;13:873248. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.873248Additional ReadingEigstia, Inge-Marie.Language comprehension and brain function in individuals with an optimal outcome from autism. NeuroImage: Clinical.Treffert, Darold.Outgrowing autism? A closer look at children who read early or speak late. Scientific American.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Wiggins LD, Rice CE, Barger B, et al.DSM-5 criteria for autism spectrum disorder maximizes diagnostic sensitivity and specificity in preschool children.Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2019;54(6):693-701. doi:10.1007/s00127-019-01674-1Hus Y, Segal O.Challenges surrounding the diagnosis of autism in children.Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2021;17:3509-3529. doi:10.2147/NDT.S282569Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. National Institutes of Health.Speech-language therapy for autism.Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. National Institutes of Health.Occupational therapy for autism.Divya K, Begum F, John SE, Francis F.Dir/floor time in engaging autism: a systematic review.Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res. 2023;28(2):132-138. doi:10.4103/ijnmr.ijnmr_272_21Al Jaffal M.Barriers general education teachers face regarding the inclusion of students with autism.Front Psychol. 2022;13:873248. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.873248
Wiggins LD, Rice CE, Barger B, et al.DSM-5 criteria for autism spectrum disorder maximizes diagnostic sensitivity and specificity in preschool children.Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2019;54(6):693-701. doi:10.1007/s00127-019-01674-1
Hus Y, Segal O.Challenges surrounding the diagnosis of autism in children.Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2021;17:3509-3529. doi:10.2147/NDT.S282569
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. National Institutes of Health.Speech-language therapy for autism.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. National Institutes of Health.Occupational therapy for autism.
Divya K, Begum F, John SE, Francis F.Dir/floor time in engaging autism: a systematic review.Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res. 2023;28(2):132-138. doi:10.4103/ijnmr.ijnmr_272_21
Al Jaffal M.Barriers general education teachers face regarding the inclusion of students with autism.Front Psychol. 2022;13:873248. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.873248
Eigstia, Inge-Marie.Language comprehension and brain function in individuals with an optimal outcome from autism. NeuroImage: Clinical.Treffert, Darold.Outgrowing autism? A closer look at children who read early or speak late. Scientific American.
Eigstia, Inge-Marie.Language comprehension and brain function in individuals with an optimal outcome from autism. NeuroImage: Clinical.
Treffert, Darold.Outgrowing autism? A closer look at children who read early or speak late. Scientific American.
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